Wan Hai Lines said its fire-damaged containership Wan Hai 503 arrived off Dubai’s Jebel Ali on Sept. 11 and has been approved by DP World and the Dubai Ports Authority to berth as a port of refuge.
The company expects official inspections first, with container inspection and unloading to start in October, subject to regulators and cargo owners.
The arrival follows explosions and fire on June 9 off Kerala, India, that left 18 of 22 crew rescued and four missing; India’s Navy and Coast Guard led the initial response and the ship was later taken under tow. By Aug. 5 the onboard fire was declared extinguished, enabling a long tow across the Arabian Sea.
Industry trackers and trade media reported the ship reached Jebel Ali anchorage on Sept. 11 after roughly 13 weeks at sea, with salvors boarding as it entered UAE waters; Sri Lanka had earlier declined a port-of-refuge bid.
Wan Hai says pre-berthing assessments found the vessel stable with no immediate risks and that all formal inspections will precede any cargo operations; the company said it would “promptly update all parties” as procedures advance.
Early official tallies during the India phase put 1,754 containers aboard, including 143 dangerous-goods boxes, and about 2,128 metric tons of fuel; local authorities also reported around 40 containers fell overboard in the initial incident.
In June, India’s Directorate General of Shipping warned Wan Hai and appointed salvor T&T Salvage to mobilize sufficient assets or face potential criminal liability under applicable laws. Wan Hai appointed T&T Salvage on June 10, with a boarding team securing a tow on June 13 alongside Indian Navy support; multiple tugs conducted firefighting and towage, with cooling and de-watering through July while the ship awaited refuge offshore near Sri Lanka.
Wan Hai Lines is a Taiwan-headquartered container carrier with a high share of owned tonnage; as of Mar. 31, 2025 it operated approximately 110 ships with about 506,551 TEU of capacity. The vessel Wan Hai 503 served South China–India trades in a joint service that included partners such as Evergreen and Hapag-Lloyd.