Kochi, June 12 -- As the fire on the Singapore-flagged cargo ship containing hazardous and flammable cargo off the coast of Kerala continued on the third day, a joint team of the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and the MERC Salvage Master connected a tow line to the still-burning ship as part of efforts to move it away from the Indian coastline, officials familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

Though the blaze on the Singapore-flagged MV Wan Hai 503 has been largely contained, the fire persists in the inner decks and areas near the fuel tanks, said ICG officials said.

Since the vessel, carrying 122,128 metric tonnes of fuel and hundreds of containers including hazardous cargo, continued to drift within the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (...