25 Crew Members Rescued from MSC Hermes III After Distress Call East of Vietnam

All twenty-five crew members of the Liberian-flagged containership MSC Hermes III were rescued after the vessel issued a distress call on September 22 in the Singapore Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) region.

Vessel MSC HERMES III, image credit: AGUSTIN ALAPONT

According to the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), the 212-meters-long containership issued the distress call around 8:45 am local time, about 300 kilometres east of Vietnam. The incident occurred while the vessel was en route from Shanghai, China, to Jakarta, Indonesia.

MRCC Singapore broadcast a request for assistance to vessels in the area. Three ships responded, including Liberian-flagged container ship MSC Ruby, which rescued all crew members from a lifeboat after they abandoned MSC Hermes III.

All the crew were safe, with no injuries reported, and MRCC Singapore is coordinating with the Vietnamese MRCC to arrange the safe return of the crew to shore. It is yet not known what caused the vessel to issue a distress call.