Singapore bound container ship catches fire in Indian Ocean: Lankan Navy

Navy spokesperson Indika de Silva said the Liberian-flagged MSC Messina ship had left the port of Colombo on June 22 heading for Singapore and it caught fire outside the island’s international maritime borders.

A fire broke out on a container ship sailing toward Singapore in the Indian Ocean, the Sri Lankan Navy said on Friday, a week after a cargo ship carrying tonnes of chemicals sank near the country’s main port in Colombo nearly a month after catching fire. Navy spokesperson Indika de Silva said the Liberian-flagged MSC Messina ship had left the port of Colombo on June 22 heading for Singapore and it caught fire outside the island’s international maritime borders. He said the Navy was alerted to the ship’s fire early hours of Friday and since the ship is still within Sri Lanka’s search and rescue limits they were obliged to respond.