An explosion was reported on board the Singapore-flagged container ship MV Wan Hai 503 off the coast of Kerala on Monday morning, a Defence PRO said here. The underdeck blast was first reported at around 10.30 am by the Maritime Operations Centre in Mumbai to their counterparts in Kochi.

The 270-metre-long vessel, with a draught of 12.5 metres, had left Colombo on June 7 and was en route to Mumbai, expected to arrive on June 10. The ship was carrying containerised cargo with a total crew of 22. However, 4 members have been reported missing with 5 seriously injured. Rescue operations show the forward‑bay fire is under control, though thick smoke remains. More containers have been reported overboard as per ANI. The India Coast Guard ships, Samudra Prahari and Sachet are conducting fire-fighting operations and boundary cooling.

“On 09 Jun 25, at about 1030 h, MOC (Koc) received an information from MOC (Mbi) about a reported underdeck explosion onboard MV Wan Hai 503. The vessel is a Singapore Flag Container ship, 270 m long and draught 12.5m with LPC Colombo,” the PRO said in a communication.

He said in response, the Indian Navy diverted INS Surat, which had been scheduled to dock in Kochi, to provide immediate assistance. The Western Naval Command redirected the vessel at 11 am, the PRO said. A Navy Dornier aircraft sortie is also being planned from the naval air station INS Garuda in Kochi to assess the situation and coordinate support