The cargo ship MSC Hermes III, from which 25 crew members departed yesterday, is currently left unmanned and adrift in the South China Sea. This ship, which is 20 years old, has been described as a "derelict vessel" according to a new navigation warning and is located at a geographical position of 11°45′ N and 112°15′ E, approximately 300 kilometers east of Vietnam.
Current Status of the Ship and Evacuation Details
This navigation warning is valid for a specified period until September 25. The ship's new position is about eight nautical miles from where it sent an emergency alert on Tuesday morning, indicating that the ship has not sunk after the evacuation. So far, there has been no official confirmation regarding reports of a fire on the ship.
The Maritime Rescue Coordination Center in Singapore announced that at 08:45 Singapore time, an emergency alert was received from the Liberian-flagged ship. Three vessels responded to this alert, and the MSC Ruby, with a capacity of 13,000 TEU, recovered all 25 crew members from a lifeboat that had left the ship. There are no reports of injuries among the crew.
Cause of the Emergency Situation and Its Consequences
AIS (Automatic Identification System) information indicated that the MSC Hermes III is drifting northeast, with the MSC Ruby remaining nearby. Additionally, the MSC Florentina and MSC Turin III have also been reported in the vicinity. The cause of the emergency situation is still unclear, and Singaporean authorities and MSC have not publicly provided details regarding this incident.
The MSC Hermes III, built in Poland in 2006 and weighing 38,193 DWT, is 212 meters long. This ship was transferred to MSC in 2020 and was en route to Jakarta after departing from Hong Kong and stopping in Shanghai when this emergency occurred.
