Sixteen crew members were safely rescued by the Chinese containership crew from a chemical tanker that was in danger at sea. The Philippines Coast Guard is honouring the crew of a Chinese containership for its brave actions.
Specifically, on Saturday, November 18, the product tanker, MT King Rich, registered in Sierra Leone, reported that it was taking on water in the northernmost seas of the Philippines, some 80 nautical miles from the little island of Badoc. From a troubled chemical tanker that confronted dangerous circumstances at sea, the 13,925-dwt ship, built in 1990, was travelling empty when it hit the strong waves.
Later, MT KING RICH captain Van Swandi disclosed that the ship’s propeller shaft failed on Saturday at around 13:00, causing the engine room to flood. The crew discovered they would not be able to pump water out of the vessel’s ballast at that pace, despite their first efforts.
As informed, the 13 Indonesians and three Chinese crewmembers were rescued about four hours later when the Hong Kong-registered containership Sheng An came upon the two rafts.
After being securely loaded into the containership, the crew members travelled to Subic Bay in the Philippines, where they landed early on Sunday morning. Thanks to the containership’s efforts, the Coast Guard says that all of the rescued crew members are in excellent physical condition.