Container ship ablaze in Indian Ocean, crewman missing

(MENAFN - Gulf Times) The Indian Coast Guard said Friday a ship and an aircraft were being deployed after a container ship lost a crew member and suffered an engine room fire between Sri Lanka and Singapore. The Liberian-registered MV MSC Messina with 28 crew reported the fire on Friday morning 425 nautical miles from Port Blair in the Indian Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the Coast Guard tweeted. It added that the Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Port Blair was coordinating assistance through another container ship in the vicinity, the MSC Deila. As of 0415 GMT, the MV MSC Messina was disabled and adrift, the Maritime Bulletin reported. It was unclear if the fire was out or what the ship was transporting. The vessel was on its way from Colombo to Singapore and reported the fire halfway to the Malacca Strait. Sri Lankan navy spokesman Indika Silva told AFP that Sri Lanka was also helping with the coordination of rescue efforts. It is the second ship to burn in the Indian Ocean since the Singapore-registered MV X-Press Pearl caught fire and eventually sank off the Colombo port earlier this month. The ship was carrying large quantities of chemicals and plastics and the accident has caused extensive damage to Sri Lanka's marine ecosystem.MENAFN25062021000067011011ID1102344918