A total of 22 crewmen were evacuated from the general cargo vessel ‘SSL Kolkata’, after the vessel suffered an explosion to one of its containers and a subsequent fire, while underway off Sandheads, Bay of Bengal, in the early hours of Thursday.
Despite immediate response of the crew and company to control the situation, the fire quickly spread to the rest of the containers, due to high winds, according to data provided by local media. As the ship started losing stability, the Captain decided to manoevre the vessel to a shallower part of the Sandheads.
All of the crew were safely evacuated from the vessel and are in good health, while there were no reports of oil pollution, the Indian Coast Guard confirmed. However, authorities are monitoring the scene for a potential oil slick.
At the time of the incident, the ship was en route from Krishnapatnam Port to the port of Kolkata, carrying 464 containers. The vessel is currently off Sandheads.
