Vinalines Queen
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The Vinalines Queen was a Vietnamese Supramax - Bulk in Hanoi seated and state-owned Vietnam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines). Home port was Hải Phong . In December 2011, the freighter sank in a storm in the western reaches of the Philippine Sea .
Technical details
The ship was built in 2005 in Japan by Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding in Tamano . It was 189.99 m long and 32.26 m wide. The draft was around 6.85 m when empty and 12.10 m when fully loaded, the side height was 17.90 m. The ship was measured with 31,247 GT and had a crew of 23 men. A MAN B&W 6S50MC-C6 diesel engine enabled the ship to reach a top speed of around 15.4 kn (approx. 29 km / h), although for reasons of economy it was mostly driven at around 12 to 13 kn. The amount of oil bunker was almost 2,500 tons. The freighter had five cargo holds and four loading cranes that could lift a maximum weight of 30.5 tons. The hydraulically operated hatch covers of four cargo holds each measured almost 400 square meters, the fifth was slightly smaller at around 330 square meters. The load capacity was given as 56,040 dwt.
period of service
The ship's name was Medi Dublin . It was built for Kairasu Shipping SA, which transferred it to Lepta Shipping Company shortly before completion. Initially, the Medi Dublin was operated by the Tokyo shipping company Daiichi Chuo Marine Company until 2006, and from 2006 to 2009 it operated for the shipping company Orchid Marine. At the beginning of August 2009, the freighter was renamed Vinalines Queen and on September 8, 2009 the Vinalines shipping company acquired the ship. The Vinalines Queen transported bulk cargo between Indonesia , the Philippines and the People's Republic of China , calling frequently at the ports of Laizhou , Ningde and Tianjin in China and the nickel ore ports of Morowali in Indonesia and Palawan .
Fall of the Vinalines Queen
The ship was in December 2011 with a cargo of around 54,450 tons of nickel ore on board on the voyage from Morowali ( Indonesia ) to Ningde ( People's Republic of China ) when it hit a storm northeast of Luzon in the western foothills of the Philippine Sea on December 24th got. It is assumed that the cargo had become mushy due to excessively high moisture content and slipped as a result of the ship's movements, which led to the list and ultimately a loss of stability of the ship. On the morning of December 25, such as at 7.00 am, which put Vinalines Queen an emergency call from where 18 degree list to port was reported. After that, all contact was broken off and the ship no longer answered. An automatic transmission of an emergency signal in the event of sinking did not take place, which is why it is not yet clear. A total of 13 ships in the vicinity had responded to the emergency call in the morning hours and offered help, but were no longer able to establish visual contact with the damaged vessel.
Although the Japanese , Taiwanese and Philippine coast guards immediately began a large-scale search operation , no trace of the ship could be found. In addition, the bad weather made the search difficult. It was suspected that the Vinalines Queen capsized and sank shortly after 7:00 a.m. within a few minutes. At the presumed time of the sinking, wind force 9 had prevailed in the sea area concerned . After four days and an unsuccessful search of an area of around 40,000 square kilometers, the Japanese and Philippine coast guards stopped their search with helicopters . On January 8, 2012, the Japanese coast guard finally abandoned the search altogether for the time being, but at the same time stated that they would not undertake any new searches at least as long as there was no new information about the ship or potential other survivors. Except for an oil film, which could have been assigned to another ship, the search forces had not been able to find any trace of the Vinalines Queen . The freighter and the entire crew were considered missing.
Rescuing the only survivor
It was not until December 30, 2011 that the British bulk carrier London Courage, flying the flag of the Marshall Islands , was able to rescue a lone survivor, 31-year-old Dau Ngoc Hung, from the sea. Equipped with a life jacket and protective clothing, he had been drifting out to sea for five days, but was in relatively good condition and was later able to recover from the exertion. Hung was found nearly 200 nautical miles west of the presumed sinking place of the Vinalines Queen . He later confirmed the assumptions about the rapid sinking. Although all crew members had already worn life jackets and were prepared for the emergency, only he had managed to save himself after the rapid capsize.
Whereabouts
The place where the Vinalines Queen went down is not exactly known, but it is northeast of Luzon, about 110 nautical miles east-northeast of the Babuyan Islands . Since the sea can be up to 5,000 m deep at this point, a search for the wreck has not yet taken place. On January 2, 2012, the Vietnam National Shipping Lines informed the British shipping newspaper Lloyd's List that the ship was finally considered to have been lost. A total of 22 of 23 crew members were killed in the sinking. According to Deputy General Director of Vinalines the insured amount was for the ship at 27 million US dollars .
See also
Web links
- The Vinalines Queen at Maritime News (English)
- On the sinking and the rescue of the only survivor (Seafarer Times )
- On the sinking of the ship (Thanh Nien News )
Footnotes
- ^ Vietnam is searching for the missing Vinalines Queen and its crewmen , SeaNews Turkey, January 2, 2012.
- ^ Vinalines Queen - Dangers of Carriage of Nickel Ore , The London P & I Club, January 16, 2012.
- ^ Vinalines Queen , Shipwrecks Log, December 27, 2011.
- ↑ Vietnamese cargo ship sunk - probably 22 dead , NZZ Online , December 30, 2011.
- ^ Helicopter search for Vinalines Queen stopped , VietNamNet, December 30, 2011.
- ↑ Vietnam sailor saved after five days in life vest , Inquirer Global Nation, December 30, 2011.
- ↑ Sole survivor of sunken ship found alive after five days adrift at sea , Viet Nam News, December 31, 2011.
- ↑ Owner acknowledges Vinalines Queen sinking , Lloyd's List , January 2, 2012.