SGGP English Edition- 7 missing crew members, barge yet to be found off southern Vietnam

LAW

Tuesday ,Apr 14,2009, Posted at: 14:05(GMT+7)

7 missing crew members, barge yet to be found off southern Vietnam

There is no information yet about the missing crew members from a barge and another barge that also went missing on April 7 when the two barges had been towed by a Malaysian tugboat from Can Tho, an official from the city’s port said on April 13.

The missing persons have been confirmed as the captain, mate, chief mechanic, owner’s representative, and three sailors from the ASTAKA while the barge is called the ASTAKA 5.

The official said the owner of the tugboat has also called off a search by helicopter.

The tugboat IMO 9443334 with 11 sailors -- seven Malaysian, three Myanmarese, and one Indonesian – had been hired to tow 11,719 tons of sand from Can Tho to Singapore on April 6.

ASTAKA 5 carried the sand but the boat also towed ASTAKA which was empty.

A day later residents in Duyen Hai District, Tra Vinh Province, found the ASTAKA adrift just off the coast and saw four people on a lifeboat approaching shore.

According to unverified information, the ropes linking the tugboat to the barges had been cut before the trip.

The four Malaysian crew members are staying at a hotel in Can Tho pending further investigation.

According to the tugboat’s log, its latest location, recorded on April 6, was 08045’ N and 1060 31’E, or around five nautical miles (9.26 kilometers) from the southeastern archipelago of Con Dao.

Related article:
Seven foreign crew members, barge disappear

By C.Phong – Translated by Truong Son