General cargo ship HOA LU 02 ran into trouble late Dec 4 in Gulf of Tonkin, off Nghe Tinh province coast, while en route from Cam Pha, sailing in southern direction. After main engine failure, the ship started taking on water and submerge, Captain issued distress signal and requested evacuation. SAR ship was sent to assist. SAR ship approached sinking HOA LU 02 in the early hours Dec 5, but couldn’t get side by side because of rough seas. It was decided that crew will go to life rafts, to be picked up from them. 3 out of 16 crew rejected to leave the ship, to assist her salvage. Rescue operation ran successfully, 13 crew were rescued, all are safe.
The ship is probably already resting on bottom, mainly above waterline. AIS is on, latest position 0540 UTC Dec 5. Maybe she was intentionally grounded to avoid total loss.
The opinions expressed herein are the author’s and not necessarily those of News2Sea.
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