The 151-meter-long, 26-meter-wide Thanh Thanh Dat 99, captained by Hoang Van Hop from Nghe An province, ran aground after encountering Typhoon Kajiki.
Mr. Hop told Tien Trang commune authorities that on the evening of 25/8, believing Typhoon Kajiki was dissipating, he left Thinh Long Port (Ninh Binh) for Nghi Son Port (Thanh Hoa) to pick up cargo. However, as the ship entered the anchorage area, strong winds and waves prevented the crew from dropping anchor, causing the vessel to drift onto a shoal.
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The Thanh Thanh Dat 99 cargo ship stuck near the shore of Tien Trang commune. Photo: Lam Son |
The Thanh Thanh Dat 99 cargo ship stuck near the shore of Tien Trang commune. Photo: Lam Son
At 11:30 PM on 25/8, the Sam Son Border Guard station spotted the Thanh Thanh Dat 99 drifting freely near Tien Trang commune, about two nautical miles offshore. The ship, carrying 19 crew members, had no signal lights on and no anchor deployed.
By dawn, waves had pushed the ship aground near Binh village, Tien Trang commune, about 100 meters from the shore. All 19 crew members were safe, according to Tran Thi Hue, chairwoman of the Tien Trang Commune People's Committee.
Border guards, port authorities, and Tien Trang commune officials are working with the ship's owner to secure the vessel and find a solution.
Typhoon Kajiki impacted Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, and Ha Tinh provinces for over 10 hours, making landfall with winds reaching level 12 before weakening to level 8 at the Vietnam-Laos border. By this morning, the typhoon had weakened to a tropical depression over Laos, with maximum sustained winds of 61 km/h (level 7) and gusts up to level 9, continuing to bring heavy rain to northern and north-central Vietnam.
Le Hoang
