BEIJING: Two crew members of a Singapore-flagged ship, Devon Bay, died on Friday (Jan 23) after the vessel capsized in the South China Sea.
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said it was informed on Friday that the ship had sunk. The incident occurred while the bulk carrier was en route to Yangjiang, China.
Four of the 21 crew members remain unaccounted for, and search and rescue operations are ongoing.
MPA said the crew are no longer on board, and that there were no Singaporeans on the vessel at the time of the incident.
The authority added that it is in contact with the ship owner as well as relevant search and rescue authorities, and is providing support as required.
The incident is under investigation and MPA will provide further updates when more information becomes available.
China and the Philippines said on Friday they launched rescue operations after receiving reports of a distressed cargo ship near the Scarborough Shoal.
The Chinese military said 17 crew members were rescued and two of them later died, after a report at around 1.30am on Friday that a foreign cargo vessel had capsized in waters near the shoal.
It dispatched aircraft to conduct searches, and the Chinese Coast Guard sent two vessels for rescue efforts.
One person was receiving emergency medical treatment, it said, adding that China’s maritime authorities were organising additional rescue forces to head to the area.
The Philippine Coast Guard said it deployed two vessels and two aircraft to rescue the Philippine crew from the cargo vessel loaded with iron ore.
“The Philippine Coast Guard Command Centre acquired information from the Hong Kong Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre that 10 of the 21 Filipino crew members were rescued by a passing China Coast Guard vessel,” it said.
Scarborough Shoal is one of Asia’s most contested maritime features and a frequent flashpoint in disputes over sovereignty and fishing rights.
On Tuesday, the Chinese military said it organised naval and air force units to drive away a Philippine government aircraft that it accused of “illegally intruding” into airspace over the atoll.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, overlapping the exclusive economic zones of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/east-asia/china-philippines-singapore-flagged-ship-capsize-south-china-sea-5878351
