On June 13, 2025, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG), with support from the Indian Navy and Indian Air Force, successfully transferred the tow of the fire-stricken Singaporean vessel MV Wan Hai 503 to the tug Offshore Warrior. The ICG had been preventing the vessel from reaching the Kerala coast. A Navy Sea King helicopter deployed salvage crew to connect a tow rope amidst adverse weather conditions. The vessel is currently being towed westward, escorted by three ICG Offshore Patrol Vessels that are continuing firefighting operations. The ICG is coordinating with the Directorate General of Shipping to maintain a safe distance from the Indian coastline, preventing a potential environmental disaster, until the vessel's fate is decided by its owners.
Key Entities Referenced
Ministry of Defence: A governmental organization, likely responsible for overseeing the Indian Coast Guard, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force.
ICG: Indian Coast Guard, a maritime law enforcement and search and rescue agency of India.
Navy: Indian Navy, the naval branch of the Indian Armed Forces.
IAF: Indian Air Force, the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces.
Singaporean Vessel MV Wan Hai 503: A container vessel registered in Singapore that experienced a fire and required salvage operations.
Kochi: A city and port in Kerala, India, near where the salvage operation took place.
PIB Delhi: Press Information Bureau, Delhi. The source of the press release.
June 13, 2025: Date on which the distressed container vessel was successfully transferred to the oceangoing tug Offshore Warrior.
Kerala coast: The coastline of the state of Kerala, India, which the distressed vessel was drifting towards.
Navy Sea King helicopter: A helicopter belonging to the Indian Navy, used to winch salvage team members onto the distressed vessel.
Offshore Warrior: An oceangoing tug that took over the tow of the distressed vessel.
ICG Offshore Patrol Vessels: Vessels belonging to the Indian Coast Guard used to escort the container ship and sustain firefighting operations.
Directorate General of Shipping: An Indian governmental organization that the ICG is coordinating with.
Indian coastline: The coastline of India.
SRKB Release ID: 2136319: Release identification number.
Ministry of Defence
ICG, Navy & IAF Execute High-Risk Operation to
Stabilise Fire-Hit Singaporean Vessel Off Kochi
Posted On: 14 JUN 2025 1:10PM by PIB Delhi
In a major development in the firefighting and salvage operation of Singaporean Vessel MV Wan Hai 503, the
Indian Coast Guard (ICG), along with the Indian Navy and Indian Air Force, successfully transferred the tow
of the distressed container vessel to the ocean-going tug Offshore Warrior on June 13, 2025. The ICG had
been holding the vessel away from the Kerala coast for several days, but sudden deterioration in weather
conditions and strong westerly winds caused it to dangerously drift toward the shoreline.
Despite adverse weather that restricted aerial operations and delayed salvage crew boarding, a Navy Sea King
helicopter launched from Kochi on June 13 successfully winched salvage team members onto the vessel under
extremely challenging conditions. The team then managed to connect a 600-metre tow rope to Offshore
Warrior approximately 20 nautical miles off the coast of Kochi. The vessel is now being towed westward at a
speed of 1.8 knots and is nearly 35 nautical miles offshore.
Three ICG Offshore Patrol Vessels are continuing to escort the container ship and sustain firefighting
operations. At present, only thick smoke and a few isolated hotspots remain onboard, a testament to the ICG’s
effective firefighting efforts that have helped avert a major environmental disaster.
The ICG is closely coordinating with the Directorate General of Shipping to ensure the vessel remains at least
50 nautical miles from the Indian coastline until its fate is determined by the owners, in accordance with
international norms. The situation is expected to further stabilise with the anticipated arrival of additional
firefighting tugs.***
SR/KB
(Release ID: 2136319)