Kannur (Kerala) |The containers on the Singapore-flagged ship, which reported a fire on board off the Kerala coast, contain dangerous cargo, including flammable solids, liquids and toxic substances, a top officer at Azhikkal Port said on Monday.

Of the 22 crew members on board the ship, MV Wan Hai 503, 18 have abandoned the vessel and are being rescued by Indian Navy and Coast Guard assets, a defence PRO said.

"Vessel is presently on fire and adrift," he said.

"The containers in the ship have dangerous cargo, including Class 3 (flammable liquids), Class 4.1 (flammable solids), Class 4.2 (spontaneously combustible substances) and Class 4.6 (toxic substances)," he said.

As the nearest Coast Guard facilitation centre is Beypore in nearby Kozhikode district, it is expected that the rescued crew members of the vessel would be taken there, Captain Arun Kumar P K, port officer, Azhikkal Port, said.

As per the update received so far, none of the 22 crew members were Indians, and they are from countries like China, Indonesia, Thailand and so on.

Meanwhile, Beypore port officials said it is yet to be confirmed whether the crew members would be brought there.

Defence sources said the Indian Coast Guard ships Sachet, Arnvesh, Samudra Prahari, Abhinav, Rajdoot, and C-144 were involved in the ongoing rescue operation.

Officials had earlier said an explosion was reported from the ship, MV Wan Hai 503, but later clarified it was a fire.

The underdeck fire was first intimated at around 10.30 am by the Maritime Operations Centre in Mumbai to their counterparts in Kochi.

The 270-metre-long vessel was en route to Mumbai.

In response, the Indian Navy diverted INS Surat, which had been scheduled to dock in Kochi, to provide immediate assistance.

The Western Naval Command redirected the vessel at 11 am, the PRO added.

A Navy Dornier aircraft sortie is also being planned from the naval air station INS Garuda in Kochi to assess the situation and coordinate support.