Amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, a video is widely being shared on social media in which a cargo ship can be seen in flames.
Users suggested that it shows an Israeli cargo carrying weapons destroyed by Yemen in the Red Sea.
A social media user shared the video with a caption that reads, “युरोपियन देश के हथियारों से भरा एक बड़ा जहाज इजराइल जा रहा था और इन हथियारों का इस्तेमाल Netanyahu मासूम Palestine के खिलाफ़ करने वाला था. मगर वक़्त रहते यमन ने इस जहाज को लाल सागर में ही नष्ट कर दिया.” (English translation, “A large ship full of weapons from a European country was going to Israel, and Netanyahu was going to use these weapons against innocent Palestine. But in time, Yemen destroyed this ship in the Red Sea itself.")
SouthCheck found the claim misleading. The viral video shows the Sri Lankan Navy rescuing the crew of the Singapore cargo vessel that caught fire in Columbo.
On doing a Google Reverse Image Search, we found that the screenshot of the video was uploaded by the Chinese website CCTV on May 27, 2021. The report associated with the image suggests that a fire broke out on a container ship anchored near the Colombo Port in Sri Lanka. The report further said that the fire almost engulfed the entire ship. 70%–80% of the containers on the ship were damaged in the incident. However, all crew members on the ship were evacuated safely.
We also found that a similar image was published by the website of the Indian Coast Guard. The image was shared with a caption that reads, "On May 21, the Indian Coast Guard reacted to a distress call from an SLN ship alleging a fire onboard the `MV Express Pearl’, which was transporting risky goods. ICG launched Operation 'Sagar Aaraksha-II', deploying ships and planes for firefighting and pollution response. On June 21, the ICG, in collaboration with Sri Lankan naval and coast guard ships, responded to the fire and extinguished it."
We further found that a similar image was also published by PIB. The press release along with the image, suggested that the Indian Coast Guards doused the fire on MV X-Press Pearl. The report said that MV X-Press Pearl was carrying 1,486 containers with nitric acid and other hazardous IMDG code chemicals. The extreme fire, damage to containers, and prevailing inclement weather have caused the vessel to tilt to starboard resulting in the falling of containers overboard. Two ICG ships and four tugs of Sri Lankan authorities made joint efforts to douse the fire.
Hence, we can ascertain that the viral video is old and unrelated to the ongoing Middle East crisis.
