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Wan Hai 503 Update

Wan Hai 503 Update

Wan Hai 503
Photo: Indian Coast Guard

June 12 Update

Reports state the container vessel Wan Hai 503 which has been ablaze since June 9 has been successfully secured with a towing hawser. The towline was secured to the Indian Coast Guard vessel Samudra Prahari which keeping the container vessel from drifting closer to the shoreline. The Coast Guard plans to hand the towing to several tugboats which will pull the Wan Hai 503 further away from shore.

Four Indian Coast Guard vessels, Indian Air Force helicopters and salvage teams have now reported the fire approximately 40 percent under control. Multiple inner decks are still ablaze and dense grey smoke still emits from the forward cargo holds. Some 20,000 litres of fire fighting foam is being transported from Mumbai to help extinguish the fire. Helicopters are using dry chemical agents while vessels continue to spray water onto the vessel.

Indian Authorities still have concerns of the environmental impact if the blaze ignites the 2128 metric tons of fuel or reaches the hazardous cargo within some of the containers onboard. Officials have stated that some 24 containers had fallen into the sea with some possibly still afloat, but most have sunk.

Wan Hai 503

Wan Hai 503

Wan Hai 503
Photo: Indian Coast Guard

On the morning of June 9, the 269 meter long, 51300 dwt container ship Wan Hai 503 (IMO: 9294862) caught fire in the Arabian Sea some 40 km west of the Beypore-Azhikkal coast of India. The Wan Hai 503 was proceeding to Nhava Dheva from Colombo with 650 containers when one or more containers exploded amidships. The explosion resulted in many containers destroyed with 20 upwards to 50 containers that fell overboard into the sea. The explosion resulted in a fire which quickly spread to other containers and throughout the vessel.

The fire could not be contained and 18 of the 22 crew members on the Wan Hai 503 abandoned ship. Ten crew members escaped using the no. 2 lifeboat while 8 others used one of the vessel’s life rafts. Four crew members were reported missing and may have perished from the explosion.

 

The Indian Coast Guard and Navy conducted a search and rescue operation and safely recovered the 18 crew members. Three crew members were injured along with two others who had suffered severe burns from the fire.  The Coast Guard also issued an advisory in the area for the risk of drifting containers off the coast. Aircraft were deployed to monitor the Wan Hai 503 for potential pollution released with the risk of more containers falling into the sea along with oil pollution if the container ship would sink.

Indian authorities has asked the vessel owners, Wan Hai Lines, to appoint a salvage company with fire fighting capabilities to recover the Wan Hai 503. However, the fire has consumed much of the forward container holds, the Wan Hai 503 may sink before any salvage attempt can be made.  The container ship was last reported to have developed a list to port caused by water ingress.  The container ship was reported to be drifting south to southeast and there is concern any oil pollution released would impact the areas of Kozhikode and Kochi.

Morning Midas

Morning Midas

Morning Midas
Photo: USCG

Around midnight on June 3, the 183 meter long, 12250 dwt car carrier Morning Midas (IMO: 9289910) caught fire in the North Pacific Ocean some 300 miles south of Adak, Alaska. The Morning Midas departed from Yantai, China with over 3100 vehicles with 65 electric and over 600 hybrid vehicles bound for Lázaro Cárdenas, Mexico. While en route the crew detected smoke from one of the vehicle decks. The crew attempted to contain the blaze by using the vessel’s onboard fire suppression system.  Unfortunately, the system was unable to stop the blaze which continued to spread to other decks on the vessel.

By the afternoon of June 3, the fire was out of control and the crew alerted the United States Coast Guard. The Coast Guard sent out a broadcast alerting vessels in the area to assist while multiple Coast Guard aircraft were deployed from bases in Adak and Kodiak. The 22 crew on board the Morning Midas safely evacuated into the vessel’s life raft and were rescued by the 355.5 meter long containership Cosco Hellas (IMO: 9308510) which had responded to the distress call.  There were no injuries reported.

Morning Midas
Photo: USCG

The Coast Guard has stated they are monitoring the car carrier as smoke could still be seen billowing out from its decks. The vessels owners have arranged for a tug with firefighting equipment be sent in the hope the fire can be extinguished and the Morning Midas can be taken under tow. News reports state the fire may have started by possibly one of the lithium-ion batteries used by electric cars. If a lithium-ion battery fire is not detected early, there is a high risk of a runaway thermal reaction.

The Coast Guard is also monitoring the situation for possible oil pollution if the Morning Midas sinks before the fire is extinguished. Reports state there is 350 tons of diesel and 1530 tons of fuel oil on board the car carrier.