Fifteen crew members were rescued after their fishing boat was struck by a foreign vessel about 300km east of Bac Lieu Province early Jan. 8 morning, according to the Vietnam Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC).

The MRCC co-ordinated with the Liberia-flagged Main Trader, which was en route from China to Singapore, to save the Vietnamese sailors after the incident.

Main Trader successfully rescued all 15 crew members at about eight o'clock the same day, and MRCC's rescue ship SAR 2701 returned the sailors to Nha Trang at 8pm that day.

The foreign ship which struck the vessel had yet to be identified, announced the MRCC. /.