Japan and the Philippines have said they will call off the search for 22 missing Vietnamese crewmen aboard the Vinalines Queen that sank off the coast of the Philippines on Christmas Day until there is new signal or information about the ship and its crew members.
General Director Nguyen Anh Vu of the Vietnam Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (VMRCC) on Jan. 8 added that they will stop dispatching patrol helicopters and rescue ships to scour the waters within the Philippine territory where Vinalines Queen reportedly went down.
Rescue groups of Japan, China, the Philippines and Vietnam will continue to send notice to ships operating in the area to increase observation.
The Vinalines Queen with 23 crewmen on board disappeared after passing Luzon island of the Philippines on Dec. 25. The ship was carrying more than 54,000 tonnes of nickel ore from Indonesia’s Morowali port to Ningde port of China when it lost contact. Only one seaman was rescued by British ship London Courage on December 30. The survivor, Dau Ngoc Hung, arrived back in Vietnam on Jan. 4/.
