Container ship with 13 Indians catches fire, 4 missing

The Maritime Rescue Coordination Center (MRCC) Mumbai of the Indian Coast Guard received a distress message at 9.45 pm on Tuesday from a Singapore flagged container ship Maersk Honam.

The ship had left Singapore on March 1 and was  heading to Suez. The ship has 27 crew, of which 13 are Indians, including the captain of the ship.  

Of the 27, 23 were rescued. The remaining four are missing.  

The vessel reported an explosion and fire onboard and requested immediate assistance. The ship was at a distance of 570 km (340 nautical miles) from Agatti in Lakshwadeep Islands.

The MRCC immediately alerted all the merchant ships near the location, through the satellite-based communication network, the International Safety Net (ISN).

Simultaneously, Indian Coast Guard ship Shoor patrolling near the Lakshadweep Islands  was diverted for assisting the distressed vessel.

ICGS Shoor is an offshore patrol vessel  and has specialised firefighting equipment on board.

IG KR Nautiyal, Coast Guard Commander(West) said, "Search operations are on and Coast Guard assets have been pressed into action, It is our priority to save and rescue the four missing crew and also continue our efforts to salvage the vessel with assistance of specialised vessels which is being arranged in coordination with a ship agency."