The burned container ship “WAN HAI 503” has reignited and is currently being towed to the southeastern coast of India. It is anchored near the boundary of India’s exclusive economic zone and salvage workers are still working hard to rescue.
According to Indian media reports, the cargo hold of the container ship “WAN HAI 503” that caught fire is still smoking, but the ship’s hull remains stable. On July 4, the “WAN HAI 503” caught fire again. The Indian Maritime Administration said that after wind and surface conditions permitted, rescuers immediately sprayed fire-extinguishing foam called Pyrocool into the burning cargo hold to extinguish the flames.
The tugboat Advantis Virgo has sprayed approximately 12,000 liters of foam foam substance (mixed with water) and has reserved 3,000 liters in reserve to meet demand. Rescue workers are seeking additional supplies of firefighting foam and have made plans to airlift 15,000 liters of foam from a supplier in Singapore if necessary.
The fire is now under control, and rescuers are monitoring the cargo hold temperature using thermal imaging cameras. The emergency tugboats SCI Panna and Advantis Virgo remain at the scene to provide boundary cooling and firefighting support as needed. The tugboat Offshore Warrior continues to tow the ship, and another ship, Saksham, is expected to rejoin the rescue operation after completing crew changes.
In addition to extinguishing the fire, the WAN HAI 503 has also been working to drain water to deal with the previous water ingress problem: the faulty hydraulic power unit has been restored to operation, and as of last Saturday (July 6), rescuers have reduced the water level in the engine room to about six feet, and hope to further reduce the water level to determine the source of the water ingress. According to the emergency command center, the water ingress may be related to the accumulated water from the previous firefighting operation.
In addition, rescuers are still exploring the feasibility of a safe haven. Although the initial plan was to tow the ship to a Sri Lankan port, local media reported that alternatives in Africa are being considered. Before the WAN HAI 503 is towed to any location, rescuers are prioritizing the replacement of the ship’s synthetic towing rope with a steel wire rope so that the replacement can be completed before the arrival of bad weather.
As of July 6, the fire on the WAN HAI 503 has lasted for nearly a month. The fire on the ship began at around 12:30 Singapore time on June 9, when a fire and explosion broke out about 80 kilometers southwest of Ajikal, Kerala, India. The cause was a sudden explosion of a container on the ship, and then the fire spread to most parts of the container ship. There were casualties in the accident.
According to reports, the WAN HAI 503 was built and delivered by CSBC Corporation, Taiwan in 2005. It has a total length of 268.8 meters, a beam of 32.3 meters, a cruising speed of approximately 14 knots, and a maximum container capacity of 4,252 TEU.
The WAN HAI 503 is currently managed by a Singapore-based subsidiary of Taiwanese shipping company Wan Hai Lines and operates a joint venture with Evergreen Marine and German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd on the China South-India route.
The ship departed from Colombo on June 7 and was scheduled to arrive in Mumbai on June 10. At the time of the incident, it was reported to be carrying approximately 650 containers, including flammable liquids and solids, self-igniting substances, and toxic substances, among other hazardous materials.
In early June, the WAN HAI 503 underwent its final port state inspection in Mumbai, which identified some minor issues with the loading and unloading equipment and issued a workplace safety warning, but the ship was not detained.