The long-stranded Wan Hai 503 has finally found shelter in Dubai, ending a 13-week saga.
The 2005-built, 4,333 teu vessel had been at sea since June, unable to discharge or secure port access after a severe fire onboard. The ship, which is operated by Wan Hai Lines, had been forced to be towed across multiple anchorages, with crewing agencies expressing concern over the welfare of the seafarers onboard.
The ship has now been allowed to berth at a DP World facility in Dubai.
“Preliminary assessments indicate that the vessel’s stability and structural integrity are secure, with no immediate risks identified,” Wan Hai said in an update, with cargo discharge expected to take place next month.
The ship caught fire on June 9 off Kerala, southwest India, after an under-deck explosion. Four of the 22 crew were killed and six injured in the accident. The ship, en route from Colombo to Nhava Sheva, was around 50 nautical miles off the Indian coast at the time.
Despite salvage teams stabilising the vessel and cooling the smouldering cargo holds, authorities in India ordered the vessel out of its exclusive economic zone by late June, while Sri Lanka subsequently refused permission for the boxship to call.
The ordeal has drawn comparisons with the Maersk Frankfurt, which in 2023 was also forced to steam across the Arabian Sea to Khorfakkan following a fire off India. Unlike the Wan Hai 503, that vessel remained under its own power.
