Three rescued, eight missing after ship collision off south-central Vietnam

The eight sailors went missing when their ship, the Phuc Xuan 68, with 11 crew members on board, from the northern province of Thai Binh, collided with the Nam Vy 69, from Hai Duong province, also in northern Vietnam, about 15 nautical miles south of Nha Trang at 1:30 am on November 9.

The Phuc Xuan 68 was transporting iron from Hai Phong City in northern Vietnam to the coastal southern city of Vung Tau, while the Nam Vy was carrying 2,500 tons of beans and corn from Vung Tau to the south-central city of Quy Nhon.

The collision caused the Phuc Xuan 68 to sink, along with all 11 crew members, while the crew pf the Nam Vy suffered no casualties.

The Nam Vy crew later found and rescued three of the 11 sailors from the other ship.

The rescued sailors are deck officer Nguyen Van Hau, 31; chief mechanic Ha Hong Thai, 37; and sailor Le Xuan Ru, 50.

Immediately after receiving a report about the incident, the Nha Trang Port Authority, the Vietnam Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Center (Vietnam MRCC) in Zone 4 and the Kahnh Hoa Province Headquarters of the Border Guard sent five rescue ships to the scene to search for the missing men.

Nguyen Anh Vu, general director of the Vietnam MRCC, said the prow of the Nam Vy pierced the cargo hold of the Phuc Xuan 68, flooding the ship and causing it to sink.

The Nam Vy only suffered damage to its prow, he added.

Tran Van Hai, the captain of the Nam Vy, said, “We detected the Phuc Xuan 68 when it was already too close to our ship amid bad weather conditions, and the collision occurred shortly afterwards.”

Hai said he immediately called rescue forces and his crewmemberss found and saved three of the 11 crew members of the Phuc Xuan 68.

The rescued men were handed over to the rescue boat SAR 27-01 at 3:40 am on Sunday, Hai said.

The damaged ship remained on scene to take part in the search for the eight missing sailors until 3 pm on Sunday, when it returned to shore because water was leaking in through the damaged prow, Hai said.

The Nam Vu docked at Nha Trang Port for repairs, the captain said.

The Phuc Xuan 68’s deck officer, Hau, who was steering the ship when the collision occurred, said, “When I saw the Nam Vy, there was nothing I could to do to avoid a collision…”

Chief mechanic Thai said, “I was lying in a room on the second floor when I heard a loud noise and the ship leaned to one side. I rushed out to the deck, put on a life jacket and jumped into the sea.

“I saw several other sailors on deck at that time but most were not wearing life jackets,” Thai said.

At an emergency meeting held by Khanh Hoa Province authorities with relevant agencies on Sunday evening, Nguyen Naht, head of the Vietnam Maritime Administration, asked rescue forces to expand the scope of their search to Binh Thuan province to the north and to Vung Tau City to the south.

Nhat also requested that naval and coast guard forces take part in the search.

“The three rescued sailors said some of the other eight crew members were still awake at the time of the collision, so if they escaped from the sunken ship, they can be found and saved,” Nhat said.

However, as the waters where the Phuc Xuan 68 sank is 60-100 m deep, the sending of divers to the sea bed to search for the missing sailors is impossible, Nhat said.

Below is a list of the eight missing sailors:

1. Nguyen Đuc Khoa, captain, 44, from Thanh Hoa province
2. Pham Van Hoi, deputy captain, 49, Thai Binh province
3. Pham Van Nhan, engine officer, 34, Thai Binh
4. Nguyen Hong Ban, sailor, 50, from Thai Binh
5. Nguyen Ba Kha, sailor, 26, from Nghe An province
6. Que, cook, from Hai Phong City
7. Mai Cong Hieu, sailor, 21, from Hai Phong
8. Chuc, sailor, from Hai Phong