Mangaluru: In a daring mid-sea rescue, 18 crew members were safely evacuated from a Singapore-flagged container ship, MV Wan Hai 503, after it caught fire in the Arabian Sea off the Kerala coast on Sunday. The Indian Navy and Coast Guard executed a swift joint operation, bringing the survivors to safety at the New Mangalore Port Authority’s Coast Guard berth at Panambur.
Among the rescued, two are reported to be in critical condition, while four sustained minor injuries. The remaining 12 suffered varying degrees of trauma. The injured were transported to AJ Hospital in Kuntikana late Monday night, where they are receiving medical attention.
“The critically injured were stabilised onboard INS Surat and immediately shifted under close medical supervision upon arrival,” said a Coast Guard official. He added that immigration, port, and police officials worked in close coordination to facilitate a seamless medical transfer.
The MV Wan Hai 503, carrying a multinational crew of 22, was en route from Colombo, Sri Lanka to Nhava Sheva, Mumbai. The vessel suffered a major fire following an internal container explosion approximately 44 nautical miles off Azhikkal and 130 nautical miles northwest of Kochi. As the fire intensified, all crew members were forced to abandon the ship.
While 18 crew members—comprising 8 Chinese, 6 Taiwanese, 5 from Myanmar, and 3 Indonesian nationals—have been rescued, four remain unaccounted for. A massive search and rescue operation is underway with the deployment of Indian Coast Guard vessels ICGS Sachet and ICGS Samudra Prahari, as well as aerial reconnaissance by a Navy Dornier aircraft.
Scenes at the port were emotional, as injured crew members disembarked—some supported by their colleagues, others carried on stretchers—murmuring prayers of gratitude or desperately asking about missing shipmates.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Singapore’s High Commissioner to India, Simon Wong, expressed his appreciation to Indian authorities:
“Deep gratitude for our Indian friends @IndiaCoastGuard @indiannavy @IN_HQSNC @IN_WNC @SpokespersonMoD. Swift and brave rescue operations for the 🇸🇬-flagged MV Wan Hai 503 which caught fire off #Beypore.”
The Indian Navy confirmed that the fire was first reported to the Information Fusion Centre–Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) at around 9:30 am on June 9. INS Surat was immediately dispatched along with the Dornier aircraft. By 4:30 pm, 18 crew members had been safely rescued.
“The Indian Navy, in close coordination with the Indian Coast Guard, DG Shipping, and other stakeholders, swiftly evacuated 18 out of 22 crew members from MV Wan Hai 503 following a major fire onboard. First aid was administered to the injured, and the ship is currently adrift,” said the Navy in an official statement.
The rescued crew members have been lodged at a hotel in Mangaluru for recovery, while efforts continue to trace the four missing seafarers. The cause of the container explosion and the extent of damage to the vessel remain under investigation.
