Major Fire Onboard Indian Flag Vessel MV SSL Kolkata

A merchant ship, MV SSL KOLKATA, an Indian flag container vessel, caught fire in the Bay of Bengal on Thursday.
All 22 crew members were rescued from the burning ship by the Indian Coast Guard which launched a massive firefighting and rescue operation. ICG (North East Regional Headquarters) Chief Staff Officer (Aviation) and spokesperson Pradeep Sundriyal informed that the fire was reported on board the ship around 55 nautical miles off Sands Head at 12.05 am on June 14.
The entire rescue operation of the burning ship was coordinated by the Indian Coast Guard, the Navy and Kolkata Port Trust. The ship, called MV SSL Kolkata, has been abandoned and is currently adrift and heading for the high seas.
MV Kolkata caught fire around midnight while it was anchored at the Sandheads at the mouth of the Hooghly on the Bay of Bengal. The ship’s crew was in no position to send out an SOS. Passing ships reported the disaster to Kolkata Port Trust at Haldia Port.
The Coast Guard ship Rajkiran immediately left Haldia for rescue operations along with a firefighting tugboat called Ocean Valour. But they could reach MV Kolkata only around 8am because of choppy waters. Strong winds, rough sea had fanned the flames on MV Kolkata out of control. By noon, the crew decided to abandon ship as 70% of the vessel was on fire.
The navy meanwhile sent one Sea King 42C helicopter and a Dornier aircraft from Visakhapatnam to assist the Coast Guard.
“All the 22 survivors including the captain of the ship were picked up by the Coast Guard vessel. The crew of the ship was rescued amid rough seas and inclement weather,” Coast Guard Commander (NE) Inspector General KS Sheoran said. “All the seamen are safe and on Coast Guard vessel which is headed towards Haldia port,” Sheoran also said.
However, the abandoned ship is adrift and is leading to speculations of oil spill in the Bay of Bengal. Authorities of Kolkata, Haldia and Dhamra ports have come together to fight the oil spill. “We are doing our best to prevent oil spill,” Kolkata Port Trust chairman Vinit Kumar said.
Coast Guard Commander (NE) Inspector General KS Sheoran also said the cause of the fire could be chemicals that were being transported by MV Kolkata. The Kolkata Port Trust has asked the National Remote Sensing Centre to track the area for oil spills.
A tug is monitoring the drifting vessel. The Directorate General of Shipping has also been roped in for monitoring the situation. Owners of the vessel have been asked to arrange for salvage and pollution response vessels and equipment urgently.
> Pratyusha Mukherjee, Calcutta, India