Timely rescues 04 Vietnamese fishermen in distress in international waters

Once receiving the task of being on duty at the search and rescue checkpoint during the storm season in the Con Dao sea area (Ba Ria - Vung Tau province), the specialized search and rescue ship SAR 413 immediately deployed the rescue operation of 04 Vietnamese fishermen in distress in the search and rescue region bordering Vietnam and Malaysia.

On July 19, 2023, the Vietnam Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Centre (Vietnam MRCC) received a distress call from a foreign vessel that discovered a sunken fishing boat with 03 fishermen drifting at sea at a position about 145 nautical miles south-southeast of Con Dao. This is the search and rescue region bordering Vietnam and Malaysia.

Vietnam MRCC then immediately activated the search and rescue plan, notified the rescue agencies of Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia to coordinate the implementation of rescue operation, simultaneously requested Vietnamese and international vessels in vicinity of the area to quickly proceed to the scene to search for the victims drifting at sea.

The Ministry of Transport, the Vietnam Search and Rescue Committee (VINASARCOM), and the Vietnam Maritime Administration promptly directed Vietnam MRCC to dispatch the specialized search and rescue vessel SAR 413 on duty in Con Dao to the scene to command domestic and international rescue forces to conduct rescue operations.

At 09:45 on July 19, 2023, the rescue team at the scene rescued 03 people drifting at sea. At 10:45 on the same day, they continued to discover and rescue 01 more person in the neighboring area. Through information exploitation, the vessel in distress was a fishing boat with registration number BD 30947 TS, with 06 crew members, which sank at around 06:00 on July 19, 2023. Currently, 02 crew members are still missing.

 At 08:15 on July 21, 2023, the 04 rescued crew members of the vessel BD 30947 TS were brought to Con Dao by SAR 413 for timely emergency treatment.

From July 19, 2023 to now, SAR 413 has planned and divided the search and rescue area for the rescue forces at the scene to expand the search area for the remaining missing victims. The sea weather in the search area continues to be bad, with rough seas and waves over 3 meters high, greatly affecting the search activities of the rescue team.

 Previously, on July 18, 2023, immediately after the search and rescue vessel SAR 413 was mobilized to station in Con Dao, Minister of Transport Nguyen Van Thang and Director of the Vietnam Maritime Administration Le Do Muoi and the working delegation were onboarded the vessel to inspect and assign tasks to SAR 413 to carry out search and rescue operations during the 2023 storm season. Here, Minister Nguyen Van Thang commented: "Maritime rescue forces are silent soldiers"./.

Several photos at a rescue scene

The rescue force at scene rescued 04 fishermen drifting at sea

The rescue force transferred the victims to SAR 413, provided them initial first aid and medical treatment

The victim was handover from SAR 413 to Con Dao Medical Station for further medical treatment