Twenty-five crew members have been rescued from the MSC Hermes III after the container ship sent a distress call while sailing through the South China Sea.
The 20-year-old, 2,490 teu vessel issued the alert at around 8:45 am Singapore time on Tuesday. The Liberia-registered ship was approximately 300 km east of Vietnam and outside Singapore’s Maritime Search and Rescue Region (MSRR).
The Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), together with the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) Singapore, rebroadcast the distress call to alert vessels in the area.
Three ships responded. Another MSC vessel, the MSC Ruby, ultimately recovered all 25 crew members from a lifeboat after they had abandoned the MSC Hermes III. All crew were reported safe and uninjured.
Cause of the incident remains unclear
The circumstances that led the crew to abandon the container ship have not yet been established.
AIS data from Pole Star Global indicated that the MSC Hermes III had been sailing from Hong Kong to Jakarta when the incident occurred. Following the evacuation, the vessel appeared to be drifting northeast in the South China Sea, while the MSC Ruby remained close by.
Two additional MSC vessels, the MSC Florentina and MSC Turin III, were also reported to be in the vicinity of the distressed container ship.
The authorities are now focused on getting the rescued crew safely back to shore.
“MRCC Singapore is coordinating with the Vietnamese MRCC on arrangements for the rescued crew members to return safely to shore,” the MPA said in a statement.
