23 missing after Vietnamese cargo ship sinks in South China Sea
- A Vietnamese-registered cargo ship carrying 62 crew members sank near Yongshu Reef in the South China Sea, one of the world’s most important and contested maritime spaces.
Rescue teams were searching on Sunday for 23 people missing after a Vietnamese-registered cargo ship sank in the South China Sea, according to Chinese state media.
Authorities in China’s Hainan province said the vessel Khoi Nguyen 18 encountered difficulties near Yongshu Reef, also known as Fiery Cross Reef, in the disputed Spratly Islands area, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
The ship was carrying 62 crew members, of whom 39 were rescued from the sea. Search operations continued with the involvement of multiple vessels and aircraft.
A Chinese rescue ship, Nanhai Jiu 115, detected what was believed to be a distress flare from the vessel shortly before 6:30 pm on Saturday (1030 GMT), according to reports. The vessel, measuring nearly 70 metres in length, was registered in Vietnam.
China’s state news agency Xinhua said that six Chinese vessels, a rescue helicopter and a Vietnamese vessel were taking part in the search-and-rescue operation.
The incident occurred in an area of the South China Sea that remains subject to overlapping territorial claims. China claims sovereignty over much of the waterway, while Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan also have competing claims in parts of the region.
The Spratly Islands, known as the Nansha Islands in China, are among the most contested areas in the South China Sea, where China has built artificial islands and established military facilities. A 2016 international arbitration ruling, brought by the Philippines, rejected the legal basis of China’s broad claims, a decision Beijing has not accepted.
