Fishing boat sinks after alleged “hit and run” in Vietnamese waters

By Baird Maritime - June 25, 2019.

[/media-credit] Image: Wikimedia Commons/Christopher Crouzet – Vietnamese fishing boats in Da Nang

A Vietnamese fishing boat sank after it was reportedly struck by a passing commercial ship in what the survivors of the incident have described as a “hit and run” in their country’s waters on Saturday, June 22.

Fishing boat CM 99596-TS was at a point 70 nautical miles southwest of Hon Khoai island in Ca Mau province when it was reportedly struck by a large ship at around 16:00 local time.

CM 99596-TS immediately sank, though its crew of seven were soon after picked up by another local fishing boat that happened to be in the same area.

The rescued Vietnamese fishermen claimed their boat was struck by the Singaporean-flagged crude oil tanker Ocean Unicorn, whose name and state of registry they saw stenciled on the hull.

Ocean Unicorn continued sailing into Thai waters without stopping to render assistance, the survivors added.

The tanker’s AIS track shows it was docked at Map Ta Put in Thailand on the evening of June 23.

Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which has launched an investigation into the incident, has said that it has yet to verify the identity of the vessel that sank CM 99596-TS.