All 18 crew of the Vietnamese-registered freighter Dolphin 18 were safely rescued from lifeboats after evacuating the sinking vessel off the coast of Vietnam at the weekend, according to the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPAS).
MPAS said in a statement that its Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) had been alerted by Hong Kong-registered container vessel Nicolai Maersk that it had received a distress call from the Dolphin 18 at around 7am (Singapore Time) on January 11. The distressed vessel was reported to be about 274 nautical miles southwest of Vung Tau, Vietnam, within the Singapore Maritime Search and Rescue Region.
“The MRCC Singapore coordinated the search and rescue and immediately issued navigational broadcasts for vessels in the vicinity to keep a lookout and report sightings of the vessel in distress. It also alerted our Vietnamese counterparts,” the port authority said.
“Nicolai Maersk arrived on the scene shortly after and successfully rescued all 18 Vietnamese crew from lifeboats. All rescued crew were found to be in healthy condition. The Dolphin 18 was reported to have sunk.”
The MRCC has issued a navigational broadcast for passing vessels to navigate with caution in the area.
Nicolai Maersk will be disembarking the rescued crew at its next port in Tanjung Pelepas, Malaysia.
