Singapore authorities coordinated the rescue of all 25 crew members aboard the Liberia-registered container ship MSC Hermes III after the vessel issued a distress alert in the South China Sea on Sept. 22.
The Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) Singapore received the distress alert at about 8.45am while the vessel was around 300km east of Vietnam, inside Singapore’s maritime search and rescue region.
MRCC Singapore immediately broadcast a request for nearby vessels to assist. Three vessels responded, with MSC Ruby eventually recovering all 25 crew members after they abandoned MSC Hermes III in a lifeboat.
All 25 crew members were reported safe, with no injuries.
The MSC Hermes III had been sailing from Shanghai towards Jakarta when the distress call was made. Maritime tracking information indicated that other MSC vessels, including MSC Florentina, were also in the area during the rescue operation.
The 212-metre container ship has a capacity of about 2,490 TEU and was built in 2006. The circumstances that prompted the crew to abandon the vessel have not been publicly disclosed by Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority.
The ship remained afloat after the crew were rescued, while MSC Ruby stayed in the vicinity. It was not immediately clear whether a salvage operation would be required.
Singapore’s maritime search and rescue region covers more than 1 million square kilometres of the South China Sea. Although the incident occurred off Vietnam, the area falls within Singapore’s internationally assigned search-and-rescue responsibilities.
MRCC Singapore is now working with the Vietnamese Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre to arrange for the rescued seafarers to return safely to shore.
The successful rescue brought the immediate emergency to an end, but questions remain over what caused the MSC Hermes III crew to abandon their ship and what will happen to the vessel next.
