Crew of Singaporean cargo ship colliding with fishing vessel to be prosecuted
Sunday, Sep 29, 2013, Posted at: 15:25 (GMT+7)
The crew of a Singaporean cargo ship which collided a Vietnamese fishing vessel leaving 3 deaths and 5 missing will be prosecuted because data from the ship's black box incriminates its' crew.
Le Van Chien, Director of Vung Tau Maritime Port Administration, said his office decoded the black box which incriminated the crew of the vessel.
Sima Sapphire Ship (Photo: SGGP)
The Sima Sapphire was on its way to Malaysia from Ho Chi Minh City when it hit a Vietnamese fishing vessel from the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang, which was returning to shore with 16 people onboard on September 16th.
The collision threw all 16 fishermen to the sea, of whom 8 were rescued by the Singaporean ship.
The Vung Tau Maritime Port Administartion said recovery of data from the black box incriminates the ship's captain and two of his officers, who now are under investigation.
Pham Hien, Director of Vietnam Maritime Rescue Coordination Center for Zone 3 (Vungtau MRCC) said rescue boats searching for the missing men have now been recalled.
However, border guards in the southern provinces of Tien Giang and Ba Ria-Vung Tau mobilized fishing boats to continue finding missing fishermen.
The Singaporean cargo ship will now have to compensate each of the families of the victims who died in the collision off Vung Tau City with US$4,000 each and fishermen who were rescued in the accident with $500 each, said Le Thanh Liem, a representative of the Singaporean ship.
The eldest and youngest fishermen saved by the Singaporean container ship (Photo: SGGP)
