Two Filipino seafarers were among four crew members declared missing after fire broke out at a container ship in the Arabian Sea, a maritime news source said. Another Filipino was seriously injured and is being treated in an Indian hospital.
According to website maritimebulletin.net, the missing Filipino sailors were identified as John Rey Behaso and Janrey Genvatin, both 21 years old working as engine cadets from John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University. As of latest update on March 10 by the Indian Coast Guard, there were no traces of the missing sailors.
The third Filipino seafarer, identified as Alen Roy, 34, was seriously injured after falling from the ship, the Maersk Honam.
In all, 23 crew were evacuated from the ultra large container ship Maersk Honam to a nearby vessel, ALS Ceres.
A Thai national who was among the 23 evacuated to the vessel ALS after a the fire erupted on ship Tuesday had died from his injuries.
The fire erupted in one of its cargo holds 1520 hrs GMT on Tuesday 900 nm southeast of Salalah, Oman. An explosion is reported to have followed the fire with flames rising 25 m above the main deck of the vessel to the bridge. Unsuccessful in their attempts to tackle the fire the crew of the Mearsk Honam sent a distress call and 23 were evacuated to the nearby vessel ALS Ceres.
The two other missing seafarers are one South African and one Indian national identified as Sakim Hegde, one of the cooks on board, according to the report, quoting a senior official from India’s maritime regulator Directorate General of Shipping.
The Singapore-flagged Maersk Honam was on enroute from Singapore to Suez with 7860 containers, with 12,416 teu, onboard at the time of the fire.