The Vietnam People's Navy came to the aid of a locally owned commercial vessel after the latter suffered an engine malfunction that caused it to drift in rough seas on the first day of the new year.
The 40,000DWT product tanker Petrolimex 11 had earlier departed Malaysia and was nearing its final destination in Vietnam when its crew sent out a distress call saying that they had lost control of the vessel on Wednesday, January 1.
The tanker was approximately 20 nautical miles off Cam Ranh Bay when the crew issued the distress call.
A navy vessel eventually arrived in the area, secured a tow line to the drifting tanker, and took it under tow to the anchorage off the Port of Vinh Tan.
The operation to assist the tanker was undertaken even as the area of Cam Ranh Bay was experiencing rough sea conditions with waves reaching up to six metres high.