Investigation into the collision between a cargo ship and a fishing boat in Vung Tau

On the evening of September 18, Mr. Le Van Chien, Director of Vung Tau Maritime Port Authority, met with the press to announce the progress of the investigation into the collision between the container ship Sima Sapphire (Singapore) and the fishing boat TG 92819 TS (Tien Giang) that occurred in the early morning of September 16, leaving 8 fishermen dead and missing.

Sima Sapphire ship. (Photo: Huynh Son/VNA)

Mr. Le Van Chien said that on September 18, the investigation team and the authorities of Ba Ria-Vung Tau province took professional measures to collect evidence on the Sima Sapphire ship related to the accident such as crew certificates, nautical charts, logbooks, etc.

However, due to bad weather conditions, at the end of the day, Vung Tau Maritime Port Authority requested the Sima Sapphire ship to anchor at CMIT port (on Thi Vai river, Tan Thanh district, Ba Ria-Vung Tau) so that tomorrow (September 19) the authorities can collect paint samples, measure the collision marks and retrieve the black box for analysis.

Also on September 19, the authorities will question the second mate, the captain, the chief engineer and the engineer officer. The investigation will be carried out urgently, but it is necessary to collect sufficient evidence and assess the safety of the Sima Sapphire before allowing the ship to continue its journey to Malaysia to deliver the goods.

Currently, the search for missing victims is still being actively carried out by the Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Center Region III and the coordinating forces.

On September 18, the search team found two more bodies, which were placed on board SAR 272 for preservation and will soon be brought ashore for identification by relatives. So far, the authorities have found and recovered the bodies of three victims of the fishing boat TG 92819 TS and five people are still missing./.

According to VNA - LT