One dead and one missing from a tanker collision with a fishing vessel in Southeast Asia.
Yet another collision between a merchant vessel and a fishing vessel occurred in Southeast Asia, resulting in one person losing their life and one more being missing.
A Vietnamese fishing vessel collided with a tanker flying the flag of South Korea off the coast of Ninh Thuan province, resulting in it sinking.
Authorities confirmed that the fishing vessel BD 83019-TS, which had 11 crew members on board, was involved in a collision with the tanker MS Favor near the mouth of the Ca Na River. The collision caused the fishing vessel to sink shortly afterwards.
Ten crew members were rescued by the passing Vietnamese vessel BV 95869-TS, which responded to the distress call and assisted in the search and rescue operation.
One crew member was found dead, while the captain of the fishing vessel remains missing.
The Vietnam Border Guard Command and the Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Center have launched a joint search and rescue operation.
Authorities from Vietnam and South Korea are coordinating to determine the cause of the accident. The investigations are expected to examine the tanker’s shipping records, weather conditions, and communication logs from both vessels.
The area where the incident occurred is known for dense maritime activity involving fishing vessels and merchant ships.
Officials remind all merchant ships and vessels to be vigilant and to adhere to international regulations for preventing collisions at sea to ensure navigation safety.
Of course, the experience of those of us who have traveled in these areas shows that fishing vessels continuously obstruct merchant vessels. The situation becomes even more difficult when approaching ports where a large merchant ship has limited maneuvering capabilities in small sea spaces, at low speed, with shallow waters around it and hundreds of fishing vessels preventing it from reaching its destination.
The problem becomes even greater when you hear the respective vessel traffic service system telling a large, loaded merchant ship approaching to pick up the pilot to watch out for the fishing vessels!
At some point, across the entire region of Asia, and particularly that of Southeast Asia and China, some strict regulations must be imposed on fishing vessels, otherwise accidents at sea between them and merchant ships will continue, not only to occur, but to increase. And then, no one will be able to say they didn’t see it coming.
