The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and Philippine National Police Maritime Group (PNP MARIG) successfully rescued 17 Vietnamese crew members of Viet Hai Star, a Vietnamese-flagged general cargo vessel en route to Cagayan de Oro carrying 4,000 tons of rice, which ran aground some 810 yards off Balabac Port in Palawan at around 9PM last night, November 21, 2023.
As per info from PCG, the cargo vessel departed Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam and was bound for Cagayan de Oro City when the crew discovered a leakage at the starboard side of the bow Tuesday night. The PCG and PNP MARIG immediately launched a joint search and rescue (SAR) team to ensure the safety of the foreign crew on board and reached the vicinity waters at around 9:45PM and checked the status of the crew and the distressed vessel.
Upon initial assessment, the crew found out that the first compartment of the bow was already flooded. They continued to monitor the situation until they eventually decided to abandon the ship around 4:20AM today, November 22, 2023. All 17 Vietnamese crew are now at Balabac Port in good physical condition.
At around 9:21AM today, the Coast Guard Station South Western Palawan monitoring team reported that the vessel was already half-submerged. Fortunately, the PCG’s Marine Environmental Protection Unit (MEPU) in Palawan conducted an oil spill assessment within the vicinity waters and yielded a negative result.
info, photos by PCG
