The fishing vessel BD-83019TS with 11 crew members, was owned and captained by Nguyen Tran Ut, 49, residing in De Gi Commune, Gia Lai.
At around 10.30 pm on October 4, while operating about 17 nautical miles southeast of Ca Na in Khanh Hoa Province, the fishing boat was struck by a foreign-flagged oil tanker travelling northbound.
After the crash, the BD-83019TS sent a distress call and was rescued by the vessel BV-95869TS, captained by Nguyen Van Tao from Cat Tien, Gia Lai, who saved ten crew members. The captain, Nguyen Tran Ut, is still missing.
The BV-95869TS took the ten rescued fishermen to Ca Na Port, Khanh Hoa, while the BD-83019TS sank completely and lost contact at 10.48 pm on October 4.
Authorities said Nguyen Hung, 35, captain of the nearby BD-93966TS, reported that the foreign oil tanker kept sailing after the collision without stopping to help.
The Gia Lai Border Guard Command has asked provincial authorities to report the case to the National Search and Rescue Committee and request support from the Navy, Coast Guard, and Maritime Rescue Centres II and IV to search for the missing boat and captain.
The Gia Lai Border Guard Command also urged provincial authorities to coordinate with the Maritime Administration and port authorities to track the foreign oil tanker’s route and address the incident.
