A serious maritime incident occurred on July 6 near the Indian port of Kandla when a fire and explosion broke out on the Hong Kong-flagged product tanker Fulda during degassing operations. The vessel was en route to the Port of Sohar, Oman.
At around 13:05 local time, the first distress report came from a nearby vessel, Team Focus. Fulda, which had departed Kandla earlier that morning at 11:00, developed a 22-degree starboard list, later shifting to port despite attempts to stabilize the situation.
By 19:00, the captain requested an emergency evacuation. All 21 crew members—including 11 Chinese nationals, 7 Myanmar nationals, 2 from Bangladesh, and 1 from Indonesia—were safely evacuated by the tug Orchid Star.
The 19,477-ton vessel, owned by Hong Kong-based Fulda Industrial, was carrying 384.17 metric tonnes of fuel and methanol. No oil pollution has been reported, but precautionary anti-pollution measures were activated.
Preliminary findings suggest the explosion may have been caused by the accumulation of flammable vapors due to inadequate ventilation during degassing, a procedure used to clear residual volatile gases from tanks before maintenance or loading the next cargo. Another possible cause under consideration is static electricity igniting the vapor-air mixture due to insufficient grounding or faulty equipment.
Two tugs, the Indian Coast Guard vessel ICGS C-429, and the pollution control vessel Samudra Pavak were deployed to the scene. Currently, Fulda remains afloat with no flooding reported. The Indian Coast Guard continues to monitor the vessel, and nearby ships have been advised to maintain a safe distance due to the potential risk of further fire or pollution.
