On 10 June 2025, two vessels were adrift after being abandoned by their crews due to fire on board. The most recent to catch fire was the Singapore-flagged container ship Wan Hai 503. The blaze began around 9.30 am local time on 9 June 2025, following an explosion inside one of the containers while the ship was approximately 70 nautical miles off the coast of Kozhikode, in southern India. The flames then spread to the containers in the central section of the ship.
The Indian Navy and Coast Guard promptly launched rescue operations, deploying several naval units and aircraft. The crew was forced to abandon the vessel using lifeboats and rafts once the fire became unmanageable. The rescue efforts are being carried out under extremely difficult conditions due to the intense heat radiating from the ship and frequent explosions, which are making it dangerous for the rescue units to approach. Of the 22 crew members on board, 18 have been rescued, while four remain missing. The missing include two Taiwanese nationals, one Indonesian and one from Myanmar. Five of the rescued crew members sustained injuries, some with severe burns, and were transferred to coastal medical facilities for treatment.
Indian authorities fear environmental pollution along the Kerala coastline due to the leakage of fuel and container cargo. According to local sources, the ship was carrying 1,740 containers, over 140 of which contained substances classified as dangerous goods under IMDG regulations. Among the materials reportedly on board were solids containing flammable liquids, pesticides, isopropyl alcohol, naphthalene and resin solutions.
Simulations by the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services suggest the containers could continue drifting in the ocean for up to three days, possibly taking even longer to reach shore. Particular attention is being paid to the coastal stretch between Kozhikode and Kochi, where debris is expected to wash ashore. Local authorities have been alerted to step up coastal surveillance and prepare communities for possible maritime or coastal hazards.
The situation is continuously deteriorating. The Indian Coast Guard reports that fires and explosions persist from the central section to the container area just ahead of the accommodation block. Although the fire in the forward section has been partially brought under control, thick smoke remains, and the ship is listing dangerously between 10 and 15 degrees to port. At present, around fifteen containers are believed to have fallen into the sea, while others have been destroyed.
The Wan Hai 503 was en route from the port of Colombo to Nhava Sheva as part of the China-India CIX service, jointly operated by Wan Hai, Hapag-Lloyd, Evergreen and Interasia Lines. The vessel belongs to the Taiwanese company Wan Hai Lines, based in Taipei, which ranks eleventh globally by container capacity, with 123 vessels offering a total of 503,000 TEU. It provides regular services within Asia as well as to Canada, the United States, South America, Africa and the Middle East. Wan Hai 503 was built in 2005 and has a capacity of 4,333 TEU.
Meanwhile, the car carrier Morning Midas remains adrift in the Pacific, after catching fire during the night of 3 to 4 June while en route from China to the Mexican port of Lazaro Cardenas. The vessel is still burning, as the flames are reportedly being fuelled by the electric and hybrid vehicles on board. It is currently located about 300 miles off Adak Island in Alaska’s Aleutian archipelago. This incident also poses a high environmental risk due to oil, fuel and vehicle component leakage.
US authorities, in coordination with the ship’s operator Zodiac Maritime, are monitoring the situation closely and assessing options for salvage, towing or potentially a controlled scuttling of the wreck. Fires of this nature are becoming increasingly common, as seen in the cases of the Felicity Ace in 2022 and the Fremantle Highway in 2023, prompting some shipping companies to consider restrictions or outright bans on transporting electric vehicles aboard their vessels.
