A serious maritime emergency occurred off the coast of Kandla on Sunday afternoon when an explosion struck the Hong Kong-registered product tanker MV Fulda, prompting a swift rescue operation and precautionary pollution control measures.
The blast happened during gas-freeing procedures as the 26-year-old vessel was en route to Port Sohar in Oman, shortly after it departed from Kandla at 11 am IST. The explosion, first reported at 1:05 pm IST by the nearby ship Team Focus, caused the tanker to tilt sharply&mdash;initially 22 degrees to starboard before shifting port-side as efforts were made to stabilise it.
By early evening, the situation on board had worsened, leading the ship&rsquo;s captain to call for a complete evacuation by 7 pm IST. All 21 crew members&mdash;comprising 11 Chinese, two from Bangladesh, one Indonesian, and seven Myanmarese nationals&mdash;were safely evacuated by the tug Orchid Star, dispatched from Kandla as part of the emergency response.
Owned by Fulda Industrial of Hong Kong, the MV Fulda was carrying 384 metric tonnes of fuel at the time. Although no fuel leakage has been observed so far, environmental safety protocols were immediately initiated by Indian authorities to guard against potential marine pollution.
The Deendayal Port Authority&rsquo;s Public Relations Officer, Om Prakash Dadlani, confirmed the sequence of events. &ldquo;The tanker MV Fulda had left for Oman after offloading methanol at Oil Jetty No. 2. We received information about an explosion onboard, though no flames or smoke were seen. There were 21 seafarers aboard. The Maritime Response Coordination Committee relayed the alert to the Coast Guard. Personnel from the Coast Guard and Deendayal Port Authority quickly reached the location. All crew members were successfully evacuated by our rescue teams,&rdquo; he said.
The Indian Coast Guard responded by deploying the vessel ICGS C-429, two interceptor boats, and the pollution control ship Samudra Pavak. Two additional tugs were also sent to the site. While the vessel remains afloat and free from water ingress, maritime traffic in the vicinity has been advised to keep clear due to lingering fire and pollution hazards.

No oil spill reported as Indian authorities evacuate MV Fulda crew after a major explosion.

Tanker Tilts After Blast Near Kandla; 21 Rescued

No oil spill reported as Indian authorities evacuate MV Fulda crew after a major explosion.

July 7, 2025 | 13:23 IST