Kerala police register case in connection with ship fire incident

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala police on Tuesday registered a case in connection with the fire mishap of the Singapore-flagged ship MS WAN HAI-503 in the Arabian Sea on 9 June.

The owner of the ship, its master, and crew have been arraigned as accused in the case filed at the Fort Kochi coastal police station. They are accused of negligence in handling the ship, thereby leading to the fire and causing environmental hazards and disruption to the movement of ships.

Various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for rash navigation of vessels, causing danger or obstruction in a line of navigation, and negligent conduct involving poisonous substances were invoked.

Meanwhile, the police said that a case pertaining to the missing of four members of the ship’s crew could be taken up only once a complaint is received from the shipping company or the ship’s captain.

Earlier, a case was registered in connection with the sinking of the container ship MSC ELSA-3 with hazardous cargo in the Arabian Sea off the Kerala coast on May 24.