According to the Vietnam Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Centre, the cargo ship, owned by a Japanese company with 18 crew members of Vietnamese nationality, sent a distress signal at about 7:30 am on December 1 (Vietnam time).
It was transporting coal from Russia’s Nakhodka to Japan’s Kinuura and sent the signal from waters about 380 km northwest of the Oki Islands and later sank.
The crew members abandoned the vessel into the ocean and one member still remains missing.
The 17 crew members escaped using a lifeboat and were rescued by a RoK search and rescue ship at about 2:16 am on December 2 (Vietnam time) and were brought to Donghae port.
