Specialized search and rescue vessel urgently evacuates two injured foreign crew members to shore for medical treatment

At 17:59 on September 6, 2023, the Vietnam Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Center (under the Vietnam Maritime Administration, Ministry of Transport) received information from the vessel BFAD SOUTHERN (Flag: Marshall Islands, Call Sign: V7A4551), en route from Singapore to China. When the vessel was approximately 175 nautical miles southeast of Vung Tau, two Indian crew members aboard suffered severe burns. The captain urgently requested assistance to evacuate the two injured crew members to shore for emergency medical treatment.

Crew members injured on BFAD SOUTHERN

Upon receiving the information, the Center requested Ho Chi Minh City Coastal Radio Station to provide initial medical advice to the injured crew members and instructed the vessel to alter its course toward Vung Tau for support. Faced with the life-threatening emergency, and under the direction of the National Committee for Incident and Disaster Response and Search and Rescue, the Ministry of Transport, and the Vietnam Maritime Administration, the Center dispatched the specialized search and rescue vessel SAR 272 from Vung Tau to the scene. The Center coordinated with the Steering Committee for Disaster Prevention and Search and Rescue of Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province and the ship’s agent to mobilize a doctor and a nurse to accompany SAR 272 to provide immediate medical aid.

At 07:06 on September 7, 2023, SAR 272 reached BFAD SOUTHERN, provided emergency first aid, and urgently transported the injured crew members to the Vietnam Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Center Region III’s pier in Vung Tau, where they were handed over to the relevant authorities.

Evacuating the victims to SAR 272