Cargo Ships Collide Leaving Eight Missing

Eight crewmembers are missing after two cargo ships collided off Vietnam on Sunday. The Vietnam-flagged cargo ship Phuc Xuan 68 made contact with another cargo vessel, Nam VY 69, at 1:30 a.m., local time. The collision happened in the South China Sea, 15 miles southeast of Nha Trang, Vietnam during bad weather conditions.

According to IHS Maritime 360, the Phuc Xuan 68 - with 11 crewmen - took on water and subsequently sank. The other ship only sustained a breach in its bow and took on water in its cargo hold. None of its crewmembers were reported hurt.

The crew of Nam VY 69 was able to rescue three sailors out of the 11 of the Phuc Xuan 68, and then notified the Vietnam Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Center (Vietnam MRCC) of the incident.

Multiple agencies including the Vietnam MRCC, Nha Trang Port Authority and the Kahnh Hoa Province Headquarters of the Border Guard, and the naval coast guard dispatched rescue ships to the scene to search for the missing men. The search areas were expanded from Binh Thuan province to the north and to Vung Tau City to the south.

The three rescued men were handed over to the Vietnam MRCC. In the meantime, Nam VY 69 continued to search for the missing sailors for hours, before docking in Nha Trang Port for repairs.