Kochi, Jun 9 (PTI) A fire was reported on board a Singapore-flagged container ship off the coast of Kerala on Monday, a Defence PRO said here.

Officials had earlier said an explosion was reported from the ship, MV Wan Hai 503, but later clarified it was a fire.

The underdeck fire was first reported at around 10.30 am by the Maritime Operations Centre in Mumbai to their counterparts in Kochi.

The 270-metre-long vessel, with a draught of 12.5 metres, had left Colombo on June 7 and was en route to Mumbai, expected to arrive there on June 10.

“On 09 Jun 25, at about 1030 h, MOC (Koc) received an information from MOC (Mbi) about a reported underdeck fire onboard MV Wan Hai 503. The vessel is a Singapore Flag Container ship, 270 m long and draught 12.5m with LPC Colombo. The vessel departed Colombo on 07 Jun 25 with NPC Mumbai, 10 Jun,” the communication from the PRO read.

He said that in response, the Indian Navy diverted INS Surat, which had been scheduled to dock in Kochi, to provide immediate assistance.

The Western Naval Command redirected the vessel at 11 am, the PRO added.

A Navy Dornier aircraft sortie is also being planned from the naval air station INS Garuda in Kochi to assess the situation and coordinate support. PTI TGB SA