The Vietnamese cargo ship Khoi Nguyen sank in the South China Sea, prompting a large-scale rescue operation with 47 survivors and 15 missing.
The cargo ship Khoi Nguyen 18, flying the Vietnamese flag, sank in the South China Sea near the Fiery Cross Reef controlled by China due to severe weather conditions. Following the incident, a large-scale search and rescue operation was launched with the participation of Chinese and Vietnamese teams.
According to reports, the approximately 70-meter-long general cargo ship sent a distress call around 18:30 on Saturday. The call was received by a Chinese rescue vessel in the area. According to Chinese state media Xinhua, six Chinese rescue ships, one Vietnamese vessel, and a rescue helicopter were dispatched to the scene following the alert.
It was reported that there were 62 people on board the ship at the time of the accident, and as of late Sunday, 47 individuals had been rescued alive. Search efforts for the missing persons are ongoing.
The spokesperson for the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the ship sank due to severe weather conditions and thanked China for its prompt support in the search and rescue efforts. The spokesperson expressed hope that the two countries would continue to work together in a coordinated manner to locate the missing individuals.
The number of people on board drew attention.
Khoi Nguyen 18, built in 2017 and with a carrying capacity of 1,900 DWT, is known as a small general cargo ship used in coastal transportation. Maritime circles note that normally, vessels of this size operate with a crew of 10 to 15 people, making the presence of 62 individuals on board at the time of the accident noteworthy.
According to open-source ship tracking data, the ship had been sailing for most of the past year without transmitting an Automatic Identification System (AIS) signal. Apart from limited stops at Cam Ranh Port, the ship was not visible in AIS records and had not appeared in tracking systems since March.
The strategic importance of the region is significant.
The area surrounding the Spratly Islands, where the ship sank, is more often highlighted by sovereignty disputes in the region than by commercial maritime transportation. While China has a significant military base at Fiery Cross Reef, Vietnam operates numerous outposts in the archipelago and continues land reclamation and infrastructure projects. The region where the accident occurred stands out as one of the strategic points where both countries have military presence.
Source: SeaNews Türkiye
