The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) on Saturday said three of ships have been trying to douse the fire that broke out on a merchant vessel - an operation that has been continuing for the last 12 hours off the coast of Karwar in Karnataka.

The three ICS ships - Sujeet, Sachet and Samrat - have been engaged in the firefighting operation on the cargo vessel 6.5 nautical miles south of Karwar, it said.

The ship carrying hazardous material had caught major fire about 102 nautical miles southwest of Goa on Friday.

On Saturday morning, the ICG said on its X handle, "Ships Sujeet, Sachet and Samrat have been fighting the fire for over 12 hours, preventing its spread. As of 0700 hrs, 20 Jul, the vessel is 6.5 NM south of Karwar." ICG's Dornier aircraft is conducting aerial assessment, with an additional aircraft from Kochi positioned for the search and rescue operation, it said.

"ETV Water Lily departed #Mumbai on 19 Jul, arriving on scene by 21 Jul," it added.

The merchant vessel, on its way from Mundra to Colombo, was reportedly carrying "International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) cargo" and explosions have been occurring on its front part, the ICG had said on Friday.

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