A Naval helicopter inserted a salvage team onto the burning vessel amid challenging sea and weather conditions. The team was winched down and successfully connected a towline to the salvage tug Offshore Warrior
This swift insertion and extraction of the salvage team by the Indian Navy has significantly reinforced the rescue efforts. Pic/ Defence PRO
In the ongoing salvage operations of MV WAN Hai 503, which is under massive fire, the Indian Navy augmented the efforts with the aerial insertion of a salvage team on Friday.
In a daring operation, #IndianNavy successfully undertook aerial insertion of the salvage team onboard distressed vessel MV Wan Hai 503, which has been on fire since #09Jun 25.
— SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) June 14, 2025
The salvage team, which embarked the Seaking helicopter at @IN_Garuda, #Kochi, was winched down the… https://t.co/rgtMmptxnq pic.twitter.com/1uXGJmSduQ
In a prompt response, the salvage team members embarked onboard a Seaking helicopter at INS Garuda, Kochi.
The Naval helicopter successfully inserted the team on the vessel amidst challenging weather/sea conditions and fire onboard. The salvage team was winched down, who connected up tow with the salvage Tug Offshore Warrior.
After the connection of the tow, the salvage team was successfully extracted by the Naval helicopter from the vessel. The towing operations of the vessel have commenced.
Presently, the Indian Navy's INS Sharda and OSV MV Triton Liberty are actively engaged in the salvage ops in coordination with the Indian Coast Guard and other maritime agencies.
This swift insertion and extraction of the salvage team by the Indian Navy has significantly reinforced the rescue efforts.
"INS Sharda and OSV MV Triton Liberty are actively engaged with the India Coast Guard and other maritime agencies to augment the salvage ops. This swift insertion and extraction of the salvage team by the Indian Navy has significantly augmented the ongoing salvage efforts", the Indian Navy's 'X' post further mentioned.
In a breakthrough, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) successfully enabled the towing of the fire-stricken Singapore-flagged container vessel MV Wan Hai 503, marking a major milestone in ongoing efforts to control the blaze and protect the marine environment.
The Singapore-flagged container vessel MV Wan Hai 503 has been ablaze in the Arabian Sea, approximately 42 nautical miles off the coast of Beypore, Kerala.
In a post on X, the Indian Coast Guard said, "Major milestone in the ongoing operation to suppress the fire onboard MV Wah Hai 503 and protect the marine environment! India Coast Guard ships undertaking firefighting operations enabled the tow connection of the Salvage vessel in an extremely challenging and daunting operation."
Major milestone in the ongoing
— Indian Coast Guard (@IndiaCoastGuard) June 13, 2025
operation to suppress the fire onboard MV #WahHai503 and protect #MarineEnvironment !@IndiaCoastGuard ships undertaking FF Op enabled tow connect up of Salvage vessel in extremely challenging and daunting operation. @indiannavy #Seaking… pic.twitter.com/KTFJl6I5fx
"HQSNC tasked the Indian Navy helicopter to winch down salvors who shifted the tow from ICG ships to Salvage Tugs. The tow has now commenced, and the vessel is being pulled to keep away from our coast! ICG fire fighting operation continues," the post added.
The vessel was carrying 1.2 lakh metric tonnes of fuel and hundreds of containers, including hazardous cargo, posing a serious risk to the marine environment and regional shipping routes
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