The Vietnamese freighter, Saigon Queen, carrying wood products on route from Myanmar to Tutticorin (India) sank off Sri Lanka in the afternoon of October 30 due to a storm caused by cyclone Nilam, Sri Lanka Daily News informs.
The vessel, with 22 crew members on board, was hit by the storm that provoked a cargo shift and destabilization of the vessel.
Nearly nine hours after the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) lost all contact with the vessel and released urgent messages calling for rescue efforts to all forces in near vicinity, cargo ship Pacific Skipper reached on the accident scene and rescued eighteen of the sinking vessel’s crew members. The vessel’s captain, chief engineer and two others remain missing.
[mappress] World Maritime News Staff, November 1, 2012