Indonesian sailors on drifting barge in Soc Trang rescued

Rescued Indonesian sailors in their temporary accommodation. (Source: VNA)

Soc Trang (VNA) – The border guard force in southern Soc Trang province rescued three Indonesian sailors on a drifting barge offshore on March 4.

The three Indonesian nationals are Rahmat Syukur Siregar, 24, Juli Yenki Siahaan, 34, and Reifaldi Estendi Bisa, 20.

At around 9 am on March 4, the Bai Gia border guard station was alerted by fishermen about a vessel drifting around five nautical miles off the My Thanh river mouth, according to Captain Nguyen Thanh Dung, deputy chief of the Bai Gia border guard station.

The border guard force sent a rescue team to the site and towed the barge, coded LL2701 with the three Indonesian sailors on board, to land.

Later the same day, the sailors were transferred to the care of the Can Tho branch of Vietnam Ocean Shipping Agency (VOSA), in order to return them to their ship.

According to VOSA Can Tho, the barge LL2701 and its tow ship was travelling from Phnom Penh, Cambodia to Thailand via the Can Tho port.

While the ship and the barge was leaving the Can Tho port on March 2 night, the tow rope broke. The ship’s captain sent the three sailors to the barge to try to anchor, but big waves and strong wind pushed the barge away from the ship.-VNA