A crew member of the MSC MESSINA has been reported missing after the ship fell into distress in the Indian Ocean off Sri Lanka.
The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) said the vessel with 28 crew members was 425 nautical miles from Port Blair, which serves as the entry point for visiting the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
The authorities from Port Blair are coordinating assistance through MSC Deila which is in the vicinity of the distressed ship. An Indian Coast Guard ship and aircraft have also been deployed to assist the vessel, the ICG added.
Earlier, the Sri Lanka Navy said a fire had erupted on another container ship in international waters within the Search and Rescue Region of Sri Lanka yesterday.
Navy spokesman Captain Indika de Silva told NewsWire that the container ship MSC MESSINA had left Colombo and was enroute to Singapore when it fell into distress.
He said the Liberian flagged vessel is 480 nautical miles away from the Great Basses Reef Lighthouse in Kirinda, Sri Lanka. This is an offshore lighthouse managed by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority.
According to reports received today, the fire on the container ship has been contained, while it remains disbanded and adrift in the Indian Ocean halfway between Sri Lanka and the Malacca Strait, Captain de Silva said.
The Navy spokesman added that all merchant vessels nearby have been warned of the distressed ship, while instructions have been issued to provide necessary assistance.
Captain de Silva reiterated that the vessel was far away from Sri Lanka and in international waters.
This is the latest vessel to fall into distress off the coast of Sri Lanka, as MV X-Press Pearl caught fire in May, resulting in a severe environmental impact on Sri Lanka. (NewsWire)