Cargo Ship With 62 People Onboard Sinks Off Chinese-Occupied Shoal In South China Sea

A Vietnamese cargo ship, Khoi Nguyen 18, sank on Saturday, off Fiery Cross Reef, an artificial island built by China which also serves as a military outpost in the contested Spratly Islands.

Large-scale search and rescue was initiated to save the 62 people onboard the vessel.

According to media reports, atleast 48 people have been rescued so far, and rescue teams from Vietnam, the Philippines and China are trying to find the 14 crew members who have gone missing.

The ship went down while sailing in rough weather conditions, Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry said, adding that all the survivors were sent to a hospital for treatment.

A spokesperson for the foreign ministry said in a press conference, “We sincerely appreciate the Chinese forces’ swift support for Vietnam’s search and rescue efforts and hope both sides will continue to work closely together to locate those who remain missing.”

The ship had sent a call at around 1830 hours, and a Chinese rescue ship in the vicinity had responded.

Vietnamese authorities said that it mobilised the rescue and worked with Chinese rescue vessels, a rescue helicopter and other vessels in the vicinity which had joined the effort.

Khoi Nguyen 18 was a 230-foot-long general cargo vessel sailing under the flag of Vietnam. The 1900 DWT ship was constructed in 2017. It was last detected in March close to Vietnam on its automated identification system, or AIS.

China has become aggressive in claiming the entire South China Sea as a part of its waters. It has used water cannons and other strategies to assert its claims firmly, which has led to skirmishes between the Chinese navy and the Philippine naval vessels.

The contested water body sees around $5 trillion in global trade annually and is said to possess vast deposits of oil and gas.

Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have claims in the South China Sea.