Hanoi (VNA) – The Vietnam Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Centre (VMRCC), together with relevant agencies and the ship’s local agent, on December 11 coordinated the emergency transfer of a passenger injured aboard the cruise ship Westerdam en route from the northern province of Quang Ninh to Tien Sa Port in the central city of Da Nang.
At 2:18 am, when the Dutch-flagged vessel carrying 1,900 passengers was about 32 nautical miles northeast of Da Nang's Son Tra cape, a 1956-born German passenger fell down a staircase. The ship’s doctor provided first aid, but the patient suffered a spleen injury, with suspected internal bleeding. The patient's condition is critical. The captain issued an emergency request for assistance amid rough weather, with northeasterly winds of force 6 and waves of 3–4 metres.
Assessing the risk of continued internal bleeding, the VMRCC instructed the Westerdam to proceed at full speed toward Da Nang. At 3:27 am, a pilot boat met the vessel at buoy No. 0, and at 4:30 am, the Westerdam berthed at Tien Sa Port, where rescue forces and the ship’s agent received and transferred the patient to hospital.
The VMRCC serves as Vietnam’s international focal point for coordinating search and rescue efforts involving foreign seafarers and vessels in the country’s maritime area of responsibility, and responds to maritime incidents under the direction of the National Civil Defence Steering Committee and the Ministry of Construction./.
