Singapore container ship suffers explosion off Kerala coast, 18 crew rescued by Navy and Coast Guard

An underdeck explosion was reported on board the Singapore-flagged container ship MV Wan Hai 503 off the Kerala coast on Monday morning, prompting the Indian Navy to deploy a warship and prepare an aerial reconnaissance mission to assess the situation, a Defence spokesperson said, reported PTI.

Eighteen crew members abandoned the Singapore-flagged container vessel after the explosion triggered a fire, according to Defence sources. All crew were rescued by coordinated efforts of the Indian Navy and Coast Guard, they said.

The blast was first flagged around 10:30 am by the Maritime Operations Centre (MOC) in Mumbai, which relayed the alert to its counterpart in Kochi. The 270-metre-long vessel, drawing 12.5 metres, had departed Colombo on June 7 and was expected to arrive in Mumbai on June 10.




"On 09 Jun 25, at about 1030 h, MOC (Koc) received information from MOC (Mbi) about a reported underdeck explosion onboard MV Wan Hai 503. The vessel is a Singapore-flagged container ship, 270 m long and draught 12.5 m with last port of call Colombo," the Defence PRO said in a statement.

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Following the report, the Indian Navy swiftly diverted INS Surat, a frontline warship originally scheduled to dock in Kochi, to the site to offer immediate assistance. The diversion was ordered by the Western Naval Command at 11 am.

Additionally, a Navy Dornier aircraft sortie is being planned from INS Garuda, the naval air station in Kochi, to conduct an aerial assessment of the ship and coordinate support operations if required.

There were no immediate reports of injuries, damage to cargo, or environmental impact. The cause of the explosion remains unknown and is under investigation.

With inputs from PTI