HCM City (VNA) – All 20 crew members aboard the Vietnamese oil tanker GT Unity were successfully rescued from a fire in the vessel’s engine room, thanks to the swift response of the Liberian-flagged ship Androusa and Vietnamese maritime rescue teams.
At 11:52 a.m on August 8, the Vietnam Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Centre received reports from Androusa and the Cospas-Sarsat station on a fire caused by an electrical short circuit in the engine room of GT Unity, which has a gross tonnage of 7,631 tonnes. The incident occurred about 104 nautical miles south-southeast of Con Dao and 191 nautical miles south-southeast of Vung Tau Cape.
Upon receiving the reports, the centre immediately contacted Androusa, directing the ship to return and assist. Androusa promptly contacted the crew of GT Unity, which was transporting 3,872 tonnes of FO crude oil from Malaysia to Dung Quat in Quang Ngai province. By that time, 16 of the 20 crew members had already evacuated amid southwesterly winds at level 3.
Le Do Muoi, Director of the Vietnam Maritime Administration, personally oversaw the emergency response, issuing maritime warnings, mobilising rescue assets, and coordinating efforts with the Navy, Coast Guard, and other relevant agencies.
At 1:15 p.m, the specialised rescue vessel SAR 413 was urgently deployed to the scene.
A forward command post was set up at the Region 3 Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Centre. The owner of GT Unity was instructed to prepare firefighting equipment, and nearby rig standby vessels were called upon to join the rescue operations. SAR 413 was tasked with transporting the crew ashore, including one seriously injured crew member.
In the end, the Androusa successfully rescued all 20 crew members from GT Unity./.
