Norway cargo ship sinks off Vietnam
Aiswarya Lakshmi
January 5, 2015
Bergen-based Gearbulk said the Bulk Jupiter en route from Malaysia to China has sunk off Vietnam with only one man known to have survived.
A Norwegian cargo vessel has sunk off Vietnam. Bergen-based Gearbulk says only one of the 19 Filipino crew members was known to have survived. According to Vietnamese authorities and the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs, two bodies have been recovered.
The lone survivor was the chief cook on the ship, but he is refusing to cooperate with rescuers, making the search more difficult, a Vietnamese rescue official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to media. The man refused to say what happened with the ship, the official said. It wasn't clear why he wasn't talking.
The ship owner, Bergen-based Gearbulk, said the vessel was 155 nautical miles off Vietnam with a cargo of bauxite when it sent a distress signal that was picked up by the Japanese coast guard. The Philippine Foreign Affairs said the 623-foot long, 56,000-ton ship sank off the coast of Vung Tau, which is about 59 miles from the southern commercial hub of Ho Chi Minh City.
The Vietnamese official says rescue operations were hampered by hazy weather and high waves. Vessels from Liberia, Oman, Singapore and China were helping in the search.
