18 Crew Of Sinking Vietnamese Freighter Rescued By Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore

All the 18 crew members onboard a sinking freighter were saved this morning at around 7:00 am Singapore time, per the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).

MPA-operated Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC), was informed by Hong Kong-registered Container Ship Nicolai Maersk that it had received a distress call from the Vietnam-registered freighter Dolphin 18.

The freighter was reported to be around 274 nm southwest of Vung Tau in Vietnam and was within Singapore’s maritime and search rescue area.

The MRCC Singapore immediately began the search and rescue operation and issued navigational broadcasts for other ships to report sightings of the distressed vessel and also informed its Vietnamese counterparts of the incident.

Container vessel Nicolai Maersk reached the scene shortly after and saved all 18 Vietnamese crew members from the lifeboats. Fortunately, no serious injuries were reported.

Per reports, freighter Dolphin 18 has sank and MRCC is issuing a broadcast for other ships to cross the area with caution.

Nicolai Maersk will be disembarking the crew members at its next port in Tanjung Pelepas in Malaysia.

References: Channel News Asia, MPA Singapore

Source: Maritime Shipping News