Saturday, May 07, 2005

Vietnamese Ship Missing Off China

A ship from the Viet Nam Marine Unviersity is believed to have had an accident somewhere off China's Shanghai shore from where it sent the last emergency signals on May 1. The Sea Bee ship from the Dong Long Sea Transport Company under the university was said to have sent out the emergency signals to the Eastern Shanghai sea rescue centre of China when it was more than 100 nautical miles off the Shangha shore. The ship, with 23 crew aboard, was carrying 5,000 tonnes of steel from Quinghuang Dao of China to Manila in the Philippines. A Chinese rescue ship at 04:00 GMT on May 4 discovered a victim's body around the water where the Sea Bee ship sent out its last emergency signal, according to a report from the officer on duty at National Searching and Rescue Centre of China sent to the Vietnamsse Searching and Rescue Centre. On May 3, the Eastern Shanghai sea rescue centre sent the Donghaijiu 169 ship to the place where the Sea Bee ship sent its last emergency singal for a rescue mission but has so far not yet found any information about the ship. Search and rescue efforts are underway, said Deputy Rector of the Viet Nam Marine University Luong Cong Nho. He told the VNA that the university has been in regular contact with the Vietnamese Embassy in China and responsible agencies of China, pushing them hard to take all necessary measures to locate the missing sailors and the ship which is believed to have sunk. Sea Bee had bought 2 million USD in insurance for the ship and 25,000 USD for each of its crew members from the Bao Viet Insurance Company. This is the third major accident in less than two years for the Viet Nam Marine Univesity

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