The Vietnamese-owned cargo ship Vinalines Queen, with 23 crew members on board, has gone missing in the Philippines sea while carrying 54,400 tonnes of nikel ore from Indonesia’s Morowali port to Ningde port in China, the Vietnam Maritime Rescue Cooperation Center (VN MRRC) has announced.

According to Vinalines Shipping, as of 7am on December 25th, upon reaching the area northeast of Luzon island in the Philippines, the Vinalines Queen announced it had an 18 degree incline, and lost contact with Vinalines Shipping afterwards.

After being informed by Vinalines Shipping, VN MRCC notified rescue forces from the Philippines and Taiwan of the missing ship and asked them to rush to their rescue.

However, Filipino authorities said the unpredictable weather and the absence of rescue equipment has made it impossible for them to carry out rescue operations.

As of 11:15 on December 26th, Taiwan’s rescue teams announced that they had sent rescue equipment to the scene twice, but had to return to their base due to strong winds and rough seas.

VN MRCC also informed maritime rescue centers in Hong Kong and Japan of the case.

On December 26th, a plane hired by the insurance company that is in charge of providing shipping insurance to Vinalines Queen approached the area where the ship lost contact, but found nothing.

As of 19:00 on December 26th, Nguyen Van Hanh, director of Vinalines Shipping, said the company has yet to receive any information from rescue forces about the current situation of the Vinalines Queen.

VN MRCC is communicating with countries and territories in the region to ask for their assistance in finding the ship and its crew.

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