KOCHI: At least four crew members are missing and five others were injured after a fire broke out aboard a Singapore-flagged container ship off the Kerala coast on Monday, according to a Defence PRO.Defence sources said 18 crew members abandoned the burning vessel and were rescued by the Indian Navy and Coast Guard during the operation.The Maritime Operations Centre in Mumbai reported the fire to its Kochi counterpart around 10:30 am.The 270-metre-long vessel, with a draught of 12.5 metres, had departed from Colombo on June 7 and was scheduled to arrive in Mumbai on June 10.“On 09 Jun 25, at about 1030 h, MOC (Koc) received an information from MOC (Mbi) about a reported underdeck fire onboard MV Wan Hai 503. The vessel is a Singapore Flag Container ship, 270 m long and draught 12.5m with LPC Colombo. The vessel departed Colombo on 07 Jun 25 with NPC Mumbai, 10 Jun,” the communication from the PRO read.He said that in response, the Indian Navy diverted INS Surat, which had been scheduled to dock in Kochi, to provide immediate assistance.The vessel’s course was altered at 11 am following instructions from the Western Naval Command.Additionally, preparations are under way to deploy a Navy Dornier aircraft from INS Garuda naval air station in Kochi to evaluate conditions and manage support operations.