A total of 303 Sri Lankan migrants trying to migrate to Canada were rescued from their vessel, which was facing strong winds and taking on water off the coast of Vietnam.
The vessel carrying these migrants was the Myanmar-flagged trawler, “Lady R3”. The trawler was on a journey of more than 6000 nautical miles, trying to get from Myanmar to Canada.
At 6 PM on November 6th, the trawler broke down and was adrift at sea nearly 260 nautical miles off the cape of Vung Tau. Facing turbulent winds, the ship sent out a mayday. The Vietnam Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) received a distress signal and diverted a Japanese car carrier, the Helios Leader to assist.
The Helios Leader arrived on site at some time around 3 PM to 7 PM the next day. All the refugees, which included 19 women and 20 children were evacuated from the Lady R3 and brought on board. Five other merchant vessels had also arrived on the scene and were on standby if any assistance was needed.
No injuries were reported, and the refugees were transferred to the Vietnamese Coast Guard. After discussions between the Vietnamese and the Sri Lankan governments regarding the repatriation of the refugees, the Helios Leader transported the refugees back to their country on November 8th and handed them over to authorities.
More than a million people have emigrated from Sri Lanka this year. This exodus is prompted by the collapsing economy, which has led to severe inflation and high prices for everyday commodities such as food and energy.
The opinions expressed herein are the author’s and not necessarily those of News2Sea.