The silence of the night before the emergency medicine department in the hospital AJ Hospital and the research center in the Karnataka coastal city of Mangaluru 9. June broke ambulances that threw themselves in. Hospital caregivers, along with several marine employees, rushed near vehicles to pull out patients, some of whom in a critical condition.
Six patients were among the 18 crew members who were rescued from the MV Wan Hai 503, a 27 -meter -long Singapore cargo ship, which lit almost 44 naval miles from the Azhikkal coast in Kannura, Kerala in the morning. The ship had 22 crew members and four of them, two of Tai -wan, one of Indonesia and one of Myanmar, were missing.
The joint team of the Indian Coast Guard and the Indian Navy joined the rescue operations in the middle of the sea. The vessel on June 7 deviated from Colombo to Sri Lanka and was to get into the bombi June. The explosion in one of the containers states that it led to the fire, which caused an unprecedented crisis in the middle of the seat, because the plumes of smoke soon whirl in the air.
This leaflet photograph taken and released on June 10 by the Indian Coast Guard shows that the smoking fluttering from the Singapore container ship MV Wan Hai 503, which lit almost 44 naval miles from the coast of Azhikkal in Kerala. | Photo Credit: Indian Coast Guard/ AFP
The disaster launched the alarm bells in Kerala because the incident came only a few weeks after MSC Elsa 3, Liberia, which emerged a container ship, brought on May 25 from Kochi. While the authorities faced the impact of this incident about the marine and coastal environment, which brought more serious questions about bumpers and potential increases on bumpers and bumpers concerning the head as well as bumpers, as well as maritime maririan questions that have bumpers, as well as bumpers.
The MV Wan Hai 503 freight manifest shows that the ship had 1,754 containers on board, of which 143 contained dangerous substances. The contents included substances classified by the International Maritime Organization As Dangerous Goods Under Its Class 3 (Flammable Liquids), Class 4.1 (Flammable Solids), Class 4.2 CONTACT WITH WATER, EMIT Flammable Gases), Class 6.1 (Toxic Substances), Class 8 (Corrosive Substance), and Class 9 (Miscelaneous Dangerous Substance and Articles) Cost. The fall of some containers into the sea after the explosion and the listing of the vessel has raised health concerns.
C. Anulekshmi, the leading scientist and leader, Kozhikode Regional Station, Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI), says that the short -term impact of chemicals or wreckage spills into the sea involves immediate damage to marine life, causing organism death and reduced water quality.
“These effects can range from direct toxicity to organisms, destruction of habitats and disturbance of ecosystems. In these areas, water and water streams and winds could be mixed. The chances of dilution of chemicals in water.
Chemicals can directly poison sedentary and Bentical marine organisms because they can accumulate dangerous materials in their body. Organisms in a non -imitic zone, a shallow, sun -lit area of the ocean above the continental shelf, can move from place to a safer place. All these depend on the amount of spilled chemicals, he says.
“If hazardous chemicals spread into the sea, they can immediately affect plane points in the surrounding places, which can further affect all organisms in this area. These basic parts of the food chain will not be available to marine organisms and affect the food chain.
The fire crew injuries were hit by the Singapore container ship MV Wan Hai 503, which was moved to the hospital in Mangaluru 9 June in the evening. | Photo Credit: Indian Coast Guard
Rajeev S. Menon, Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of Calicut, says most dangerous goods on the ship are widely used by industrial chemicals for raw materials for the production of common polymers, resins, pesticides and other advanced fine chemicals.
The freight manifesto shows the presence of nitrocellulose with alcohol. “Mixing and Dispersion of Nitrocellulose in Seawater Will Prevent Explosions, and This is the Probably The Most Desirable Outcome to Hope For, As IT is and Non-toxic Substance. Anhydride Are Hazardous Chemicals That Are Insoluble and Will Persist in the Marine Environment for and a longer duration, ”he says.
Hydrobromic acid and phosphoric acid, which are highly corrosive acids, are soluble in water and will disperse relatively quickly in seawater. When mixing, the located, short -term decrease in pH (measuring its acidity or alkalinity) of seawater causes a short -term decline in pH (measurement of its acidity or alkalinity), which could be harmful to water life.
It says that direct reading of the risks of these chemicals can be slightly misleading because their mixing with a large volume of seawater will significantly reduce and distract some hazards.
Meanwhile, they face recurrence of such incidents and the subsequent threat of extensive pollution, the Ministry of the Union’s, Transport and Waterways and Agency, such as Mercantile Marine Department (MMD), in the process of reading an action plan to strengthen the Indian naval framework, and prevent such incidence.
Sources say two back incidents placed on top of each other off the Kerala coast in Indian naval regulatory architecture of bare critical vulnerability. The complex problems of ownership, the threat of dangerous cargo and the delayed response to emergencies due to the sinking were a challenge for the parties to awakens.
“The proposed action plan is based on key lessons from recent incidents to outline a comprehensive set of steps, including those aimed at strengthening maritime security, environmental protection and institutional readiness,” MMD officials say.
They include the modernization of port infrastructure and responsibility and ensuring the availability of towing infrastructure and improving the efficiency in the emergency reaction. In order to satisfy the growing number of ships, India must expand his sanctioned power officers of the port control officers, which now encounter 40% of the degree of unoccupiedness. They also need to be equipped with advanced digital inspection tools, say MMD sources.
The head of the trade unions in the fishing sector is afraid of the impact of accidents on the possibilities of fishermen. Recurrent accidents that fear could hit fishermen hard.
Representatives of trade unions in the fishing sector say that the inspections need to be improved in the ports, even on the newly ceremonial inaugurated in Vishinjam.
Charles George, President, Keral Matsyathozhilali aikya Vedi, notes that the sinking of MSC Elsa 3 from the sinking of Liberia could have been prevented if a thorough fitness inspection was carried out in Vishinjam to ensure ballast water management.
“When registering the case against the owner of the vessel, there was a delay of more than 14 days. Why are there such vessels that are more than 25 years old, allowed to act in ports in India with dangerous cargo,” Girdles.
However, officials of the Ministry of Port, Transport and Waterways say that older vessels may not always be unfit for use, especially if they have received a classification company safety certificate.
“Efforts relate to reforms in this industry. While 13th June was determined as a deadline to complete the process of oil record from the vessel sinking the coast of Alappuzha, 4 July is the aim of demobilization ongoing more agency reaction and rescue, which is led by the General Directorate,” they say.
Reports of possible contamination in the sea organisms, including fish, forced several people in Kerala to leave their basic diet and choose meat. A shift in dietary practice was hit by a seller of fish, such as Sreedevi LáSh, who commuted fish from her house in Vaikom to Kochi by bus daily.
“Despite the financial difficulties, I had to take a break on fish for more than a week due to a decrease in household fishing,” he says, adding that the demand for fish has to pick up.
Meanwhile, CMFRI officials collect samples of water and sediments from the coastal areas of cannura, Kozhikode and Malappurama and constantly watch fishing.
The leading official says that only small fishing vessels work in these areas due to the ongoing ban on monsoon tow nets. “There are no news about dead fish on the coast or fishing locations. Currently, fish available in the markets come mainly from the coastal areas of Keraral and Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
The rescue mission is dealt with by five coastline ships, two Dornier aircraft and one helicopter. The primary focus is to limit the movement of the ship, which is an adrift. According to the central agencies involved in the mission, the vessel will be turned to a safer place to avert the potential ecological disaster.
Recurrent sea accidents demanded a comprehensive study on ship accidents and safety and preventive measures to be taken because Keral’s sea routes are busy after commissioning the international port of Vishinjam.
(with John L. Paul’s inputs in Kochi)
Published – June 12, 2025 20:41
