Search for missing Vinalines Queen Ship continues

On Jan 2, Vinalines Shipping Company issued a press communiqué that it had hired rescue helicopters from the Philippines to continue its search for the missing Vinalines Queen Ship and its crew members.

Vietnam has been searching for the missing Vinalines Queen Ship and its crewmen between the Philippine and Taiwanese seawaters, covering an area of 40,000 kilometers for 4 full days of Dec 26, Dec 30, Dec 31 and Jan 1. 

So far, there has been no sign of the ill-fated ship, said Nguyen Anh Vu, general director of the Vietnam Marine Cooperation Center (VN MRRC).

Earlier, 13 international ships had pledged to help search for the 22 missing sailors of the Vinalines Queen Cargo Ship.

They committed to the search after the Vietnam Maritime Search and Rescue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC) contacted them and asked for their assistance on December 31.

However the remaining 22 sailors are feared dead after unsuccessful search attempts by air force of Japan , Taiwan ( China ) and the Philippines .

Search and rescue forces from Japan and the Philippines have been utilizing airplanes and other modern rescue equipment to search for the lost Vietnamese-owned cargo ship and its crew that went missing on December 25.

However, as Japan Coast Guard has no equipment for rent, VM MRRC hired ships and helicopters from the Philippines .

VM MRRC also contacted other ship owners to resume rescue efforts.

Vinalines Shipping, owner of the Vinalines Queen Ship has promised to reward any units or individuals who provide information about the missing ship and it crew.

According to a report, the vessel went missing at 7am on December 25 upon reaching northeast of Luzon Island , in the Philippines .

Vu said his staff is doing their best to find the remaining crewmembers. He urged their relatives not to lose hope as Dau Ngoc Hung, a sailor on the cargo ship was rescued after being adrift at sea on a lifebuoy for more than five days.

Hung will be flown back to Vietnam as soon as he arrives in Singapore on January 4.

Dau Ngoc Hung, a crew member of the missing Vinalines Queen Cargo Ship, was found alive after drifting for six days on the 5,000m-deep Philippine Sea . He says the boat sank and he is the sole survivor.

The 31-year-old, from the central province of  Nghe An is one of the 23 crewmen of the ship that was carrying 54,400 tons of Nickel ore from Indonesia’s Morowali port to Ningde port in China.

Singaporean authorities have announced their full cooperation and   willingness to receive the survivor Hung.