According to foreign media reports, two and a half months after a cargo fire accident off the coast of Cochin, India, the severely damaged container ship “Wan Hai 503” is still searching for a port of refuge.
Indian authorities rejected the container ship’s request for refuge in Kerala, and even ordered the vessel to leave India’s exclusive economic zone while rescue personnel were still on board fighting the fire.
The shipowner’s plan at the time was to seek a port of refuge in Sri Lanka, and the Hambantota Port, owned by China Merchants Group, had agreed to accept the vessel. However, the plan encountered an insurmountable obstacle when Sri Lankan authorities demanded a $3.25 billion performance bond, an amount far exceeding the liability limits for normal salvage operations.
This request from Sri Lankan authorities came shortly after a court in the country ruled that the owners of the freighter “X-Press Pearl” must pay $1 billion in compensation for environmental damage caused to its coastline when the ship caught fire and sank in 2021.
According to sources, this left the container ship “Wan Hai 503” with two potential options—Penang in Malaysia and Jebel Ali in the UAE.
Initially, the Penang port option seemed the most promising, as the port operator agreed to receive the vessel pending approval from Malaysian authorities. However, it is understood that the shipowner has now decided to abandon this option in favor of Jebel Ali, and its route plan has been approved.
Jebel Ali has the capability to receive distressed vessels and possesses the necessary reception facilities to handle dangerous goods that need to be unloaded from the ship.
However, a previous concern was that this would mean the container ship “Wan Hai 503” would have to be towed during the Indian southwest monsoon season, which would place enormous stress on the hull over a towing distance of nearly 2,000 nautical miles.
Currently, the “Wan Hai 503” is believed to still be off the coast of Sri Lanka, with salvagers continuing efforts to pump water from the ship’s No. 5 cargo hold, a long-standing hidden danger.
On June 9 local time, an explosion and fire occurred in a cargo hold of the container ship “Wan Hai 503” near the coast of Kerala, India, and the fire spread rapidly. The accident resulted in the unfortunate deaths of 4 crew members on the Singapore-registered freighter.
Indian authorities refused to grant this container ship a port of refuge in their waters and instead ordered it to be towed out of their exclusive economic zone while rescue personnel were still on board fighting the fire.
In late July, Indian authorities ceased rescue operations for the “Wan Hai 503”. Since then, responsibility for the distressed vessel has been transferred to its flag state, Singapore.
Compiled by Shipping Online.
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