The Indian Coast Guard and a team of Marine Emergency Response Centre (MERC) from Porbandar have intensified efforts to tow the Singapore-flagged ship WANHAI 503 further away into the deep sea after it caught fire off the Kannur coast. The operation aims to prevent any potential environmental disaster along the Kerala coastline.

The MERC team has successfully connected a tow line to the front of the vessel, attaching it to a tugboat named Water Lilly, the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority said on Wednesday. The team of 5 crew members were airlifted onto the ship by a Coast Guard helicopter. The operation was carried out after the fire at the front of the vessel was brought under control, KSDMA added. 

“The tow line could be connected only because the fire was brought under control. The ship is currently about 95 km from the Kerala coast, and if the tow line holds, it can be towed further into the deep sea,” said KSDMA Member Secretary Sekhar Lukose Kuriakose. He added that this is a very significant achievement on a burning ship.

Meanwhile, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) said that the tow line was connected under extremely challenging conditions. "In a daring operation in extremely excruciating circumstances, an ICG helicopter winched five members of the salvage team and an aircrew diver onto the burning vessel to facilitate the towing process. Sea conditions unfavourable," the Coast Guard said in a statement. 

It added that containing the fire and towing the vessel to a safer location remain the top priorities of the ongoing rescue operation. The ship is currently drifting in a south-easterly direction, approximately 42 nautical miles from Beypore, said ICG. 

The vessel, carrying 1,22,128 metric tons of fuel and hundreds of containers, including hazardous cargo, caught fire on June 9. Since then, the Indian Coast Guard has been actively working to contain the damage and has managed to extinguish around 40 per cent of the blaze. However, the ship, which remains afloat, continues to emit smoke.

MV Wan Hai 503 had 1754 containers onboard, 1083 under deck and 671 on the deck. Of this, 143 containers were carrying IMDG (International Maritime Dangerous Goods) cargo. These include flammable liquids, flammable solids, substances liable to spontaneous combustion, substances that emit flammable gases when in contact with water, toxic substances, corrosive substances and other dangerous substances and articles.