Ship fire: Coast Guard begins towing of vessel

Mumbai, June 2: The Coast Guard is towing the ONGC supply vessel to Mumbai for anchoring, a day after a major fire broke out in engine room of the ship at Bombay High off the city coast.

"Fire is under control and the vessel is being towed to Mumbai for anchoring. We are cooling its compartments as they are hot," a Coast Guard official said on Monday.

The incident occurred last afternoon when the ship was at about 200 km west off the coast. Though no casualty was reported in the incident, the situation warranted fire-fighting as well as evacuation of 33 crew members including fire fighters.

The Indian Coast Guard Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre at Mumbai (MRCC-MB) had launched the fire-fighting operations after it received a distress alert from the supply vessel.

PTI