File image courtesy Houei Transport

Representatives of the Vietnamese Embassy and the labour management board in the Republic of Korea (RoK) on Dec. 20 met and handed over new passports for 17 Vietnamese sailors, who were rescued in a ship accident off the RoK island of Ulleung on Dec. 1.

The Panamanian-registered Houei Crystal ship, with 18 Vietnamese crew members, sank in the border waters between the RoK, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and Japan, VNA reported Tuesday.

17 crewmembers were found after drifting into the RoK’s waters, rescued by the Korean Coast Guard, and brought to the Donghae port in Gangwon province on Dec. 2. One of the sailors remains missing.

The sailors are staying at a hotel near the Incheon airport while completing their procedures for returning home. Due to the accident, they lost all personal identification documents. The embassy has granted them with new passports and helped with the procedures so that they can leave for Vietnam on Dec. 25.

At the meeting at the hotel, Ta Thi Thanh Thuy, head of the labour management board, also presented gifts to the group.

Dang Van Duy, the captain of the sunken ship, expressed his gratitude for such prompt assistance.

Vietnamese mission's representatives meet with rescued Vietnamese sailors in Seoul.VNA/VNS Photo

Ta Thi Thanh Thuy, head of the Vietnamese labour management board in the Republic of Korea, presents a new passport to a sailor at the meeting. Photo: VNA

Right after being informed of the incident, the embassy had deployed citizen protection measures and contacted the coast guard in the region to get further information.

The missing crew member of the Houei Crystal fell into the sea from the deck of the 5,762-ton vessel at around 8:30 a.m. on Dec.1, hours before it sent the distress signal at around 4:30 p.m. the same day, according to Japan’s 8th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters.

The ship, which was transporting about 8,000 tons of coal from Russia’s Nakhodka to Kinuura, Aichi Prefecture, sent the signal from waters 380 kilometers northwest of the Oki Islands and later sank.

According to the Vladivostok Marine Rescue Coordination Center, a Russian good samaritan vessel - the bulker Region 87 - was near the scene and attempted to rescue the crew. The effort was not successful because of heavy seas, so Region 87 stood by to await the arrival of a RoK's patrol vessel.

The 17 crew members escaped using a lifeboat and were rescued by RoK's authorities about 12 hours later. One of the sailors remains missing.

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