Explosion at Sea: Ship Engulfed in Flame
Recently, you might have seen or if not, let me inform you that tommoro, the Indian Coast Guard and the Indian Navy tweeted about it . These visuals have been presented to the world,
and here you can see the ship that is on fire. This is a Singapore-flagged ship that was passing near the coast of Kerala, and then there was a huge explosion, causing the entire ship to catch fire.
Global Attention on the Rescue Mission
By looking at these visuals, you can understand that the attention of the global media has shifted here, focusing on how the crew will be rescued because you can imagine that while the ship is on fire, the crew cannot escape anywhere as they are surrounded by water. Immediately, both the Indian Coast Guard and the Indian Navy launched an operation to attempt to rescue the crew, and at the same time, the process to extinguish the fire on the ship also began. Let me tell you, this is by no means an easy operation; this is a very difficult operation because the fire you see on the ship is very intense.
Dangerous Cargo: The Cause of the Fire
If you are wondering how this happened, it is a cargo ship, and you may be curious how such a fire could break out. It is reported that this ship, Van Hai 503, was carrying four types of hazardous materials that could explode or combust at any moment if exposed to excessive heat. This cargo ship was carrying flammable liquids (Class 3), flammable solids (Class 4.1), and substances liable to spontaneous combustion, which can suddenly explode, along with the top six substances classified as Class 9.
I assume that perhaps the temperature has been continuously rising, especially near the ocean side, where it often gets hotter, and suddenly, there was an explosion in the morning. Clearly, since there were many hazardous materials on this ship, if even one of them exploded, it could lead to such scenes.
A Global Lesson in Maritime Safety
This is a lesson, in my opinion, for the entire world that we need to pay attention to the safety of cargo ships again. As of now, I should mention that confirmation regarding the safety of all crew members has not yet been received. There were a total of 22 people on this ship, belonging to various nationalities; many were from Taiwan, some from Singapore, and some news outlets are saying that there were also people from China, but this has not been confirmed yet.
Out of these, 18 people have been rescued by the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard, but what happened to the remaining four is not confirmed. Given the level of explosion that occurred here, anything could have happened. It clearly seems like a major tragedy that four people have died in the middle of the sea. However, I must say that it has not yet been confirmed what happened to the other four. Hopefully, there will be some miracle , and they will also be rescued.
Swift Response by Indian Forces
But look at how quickly the Indian Navy responded; we immediately deployed the IAS Surat and Darnier aircraft to provide any important assistance. The 18 crew members have been safely rescued by the IAS Surat. Yes, we literally used an Indian Navy ship here to save the lives of 18 people.
Usually, countries do not go to this extent; to save other country’s cargo maximum, the Coast Guard is sent. But in this case, the Indian Navy played a proactive role, and that’s why you will also see from Singapore,
“Thank You India.” This statement is from the Singapore ambassador in India, who is saying that 18 crew members were rescued on an Indian Navy ship who were injured, and they are being provided medical treatment.
The professional and rapid response of the Indian Coast Guard and the Indian Navy is praying that the remaining crew are found safe. Here you can see all the details they have written down. You will also see that many Singapore media outlets are thanking the Indian Navy.
India: A Rising Superhero in the Indo-Pacific
The reason is simply that at a time when the Indian Navy is continuously expanding here, even China’s navy is also expanding significantly in the Indo-Pacific, and the US Navy is not as proactive as it used to be. It is believed that the current situation in the USA suggests that their navy will primarily focus on containing China, and in many places, the US will not be so involved in rescue operations.
This region literally needs a superhero; I would call it a superhero because Superman and others avangers are not real. When an accident happens, right in the middle of the ocean, when a cargo ship catches fire, who will come to rescue you? You need someone with superhero powers. So, the expectation is from India that India will not act like China.
China’s Cold Response to SOS Calls
Now, you might ask what it means to not act like China. Recently, about a year ago, there was a case where the Chinese Navy ignored an SOS call. SOS stands for Save Our Souls. When a ship is in serious trouble, and the crew feels they are about to die, they release an emergency SOS call. There is a basic humanity that if someone hears an SOS call, they will help out of humanity, forgetting about flags and countries.
But China shocked the world when the Chinese Navy ignored an SOS call. What happened was that there was a Liberian-flagged ship, which had some Israelis on board, and it was attacked by Somali pirates. The US and its allied countries were trying to save this ship. The Chinese Navy was nearby and could have easily helped, but they ignored the SOS call. Everyone was shocked that with such a strong military budget and aircraft carriers, what good is it if their people are so cowardly cold . that they ignore an SOS call
Many articles were published about this. There is and artical About “China Ignores Distress Call from Hijacked Israeli Ship.” Now, this ship was under the Liberian flag but was also referred to as an Israeli ship in many places. In this article, you will see that the Chinese Navy was given not one, not two, but 59 distress calls. This was later released by the Pentagon, and the world was informed about it.
India vs China: A Contrast in Ethics
The People’s Liberation Army has its morals and ethics; when a ship signals for help 59 times, they still ignore it and leave. Obviously, other countries notice these things. China is infamous for bullying the countries around it in the South China Sea. The Philippines Coast Guard’s ship will be there, and China’s ship will attack their ship. Many cases of bullying have been observed.
In comparison, look at India; I am saying this not because I am Indian, but because India literally acts like a superhero in the Indian Ocean, whether it’s the Horn of Africa region or any southern part of the Indian Ocean. Wherever there is a need, the Indian Navy immediately goes there to help. It’s in our blood if say boldy.
A Call to Support the Indian Navy
Our fuel is involved in this; obviously, we are also putting our people’s lives at risk. These missions are risky; if something goes wrong tomorrow, the Indian Navy will be blamed for not handling it properly. But still, we go there and try to do our best.
Unfortunately, the Western media does not cover this aspect of the Indian Navy much, and I even see that Arab media creates strange headlines. They will make headlines that suggest that an Indian ship was on fire and we saved it. For example, there is an article from Al Arabiya English titled “Indian Navy Deploys After Crew Injured on Burning Container Ship,” which makes it seem like there was a fire on our container ship and we deployed something there.
These are tactics, but I believe at least we Indians should talk about this. We have a strong voice, and I would encourage you to share such work of our Navy in the media and on social media. The world should know what China is doing in the Indian Ocean and what India is doing.
