SAR 411 ship from Cua Lo rescued 5 people from the Northwest Cruise at sea
(Baonghean.vn) - Immediately after receiving a distress signal from the Northwest Cruise ship, SAR 411 was ordered to leave its duty position at Cua Lo Port (Nghe An) to go on an emergency rescue.
On December 20, the Vietnam Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Center (under the Vietnam Maritime Administration) said that it had dispatched the SAR 411 ship on duty at Cua Lo Port to rescue 5 crew members on the Tay Bac Cruise ship.
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| The Northwest Cruise Ship was rescued by SAR 411. Photo: Khanh An |
At noon on December 19, the Vietnam Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Center received information about the Northwest Cruise ship (Phu Son Company Limited, Nam Dinh Province) with 5 crew members on board, while traveling from Nam Dinh to Da Nang, the gearbox broke down and the ship lost its ability to maneuver since the night of December 18. The ship is drifting at a location more than 50 nautical miles from Cua Lo. The crew on board tried to fix the problem in rough sea conditions but were unsuccessful.
After receiving the information, the Center immediately deployed professional measures, directly connected, instructed the captain to apply measures to stabilize the ship, and requested regular communication to update the position and status of the ship.
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| Five crew members were rescued. Photo: Khanh An |
On board were 5 crew members including: Mr. Tran Van Phu (born in 1972, residing in group 22, Thinh Long town, Hai Hau, Nam Dinh), Mr. Le Thanh Hiep (born in 1974, residing in An Hai Bac, Son Tra, Da Nang), Mr. Vo Dinh Chinh (born in 1974, residing in An Hai Bac, Son Tra, Da Nang), Mr. Tran Quoc Oai (born in 1978, residing in Nam Phong commune, Nam Dinh city), Mr. Hoang Van Khai (born in 1984, residing in Hai Chinh commune, Hai Hau, Nam Dinh).
Due to the northeast monsoon in the area where the ship crashed, there were big waves and strong winds, and drizzle, making visibility limited. After nearly a day of enduring the storm, the crew members were panic-stricken and exhausted.
At noon on December 19, the Vietnam Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Center (under the Vietnam Maritime Administration) dispatched ship SAR 411 from its duty position at Cua Lo Port, Nghe An to conduct an emergency rescue.
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| 5 crew members received gifts from the Ministry of Transport and the Vietnam Maritime Administration. Photo: Khanh An |
After more than 7 hours of urgent searching, at 6:30 p.m. on December 19, SAR 411 discovered the Northwest Cruise ship. Realizing that the weather conditions were big waves and poor visibility, making it very dangerous to approach and transfer people, SAR 411 used a gun to fire a tow rope to the Northwest Cruise ship to bring the ship and all crew members ashore.
By the morning of December 20, the maritime rescue force had brought all 5 crew members and the Northwest Cruise safely to Cua Gianh Port (Quang Binh), and proceeded to hand over to local authorities and the ship owner.