Vietnam says 17 missing after cargo ship sinks in South China Sea

Rescuers searched Sunday for 17 missing people after the Vietnamese-registered cargo ship Khoi Nguyen 18 sank in stormy weather in the South China Sea, Vietnam's foreign ministry said.

The ministry said the vessel was carrying 62 people. Foreign ministry spokesperson Pham Thu Hang said Vietnamese authorities reached the scene after the ship sank while operating in bad weather in what Vietnam calls the East Sea. She said 45 people had been rescued by noon Sunday, 0500 GMT, with support from Chinese rescue forces, including ships and helicopters, and from other vessels in the area. Authorities and fishing vessels were continuing to search for the remaining people, she said.

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said the Khoi Nguyen 18 encountered trouble near Yongshu Reef, also known as Fiery Cross Reef, in the Spratly archipelago. China’s state news agency Xinhua said a Chinese rescue vessel first detected what was believed to be a distress signal from the Vietnamese ship on Saturday evening. Xinhua said six Chinese vessels, a rescue helicopter and one Vietnamese vessel were involved in search and rescue operations.

The Khoi Nguyen 18 is a Vietnamese-registered cargo ship just under 70 metres long, according to the Marine Traffic monitoring website.

Fiery Cross Reef is controlled by Beijing and also claimed by Hanoi and Manila. Beijing claims almost all of the South China Sea, while Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan also claim parts of the waterway, including areas of the Spratly Islands. More than 25 percent of global trade passed through the South China Sea in 2024, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

In a separate incident on Friday, another Vietnamese vessel sank in rough seas in the Spratly Islands area, Vietnamese state media said. Tuoi Tre News reported that the fishing vessel met strong winds, took on water and sank on Friday morning. It said 33 fishermen were rescued by about 9:00 p.m. Friday around 15 nautical miles west of the sinking site, and were taken to Da Tay, or West Reef, for medical care. The report said they were in stable condition. Three fishermen remained missing, and the report said they had left the ship clinging to plastic containers and without life jackets.