T.B MANYPLUS 12

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Abandoned barge towed to Ulugan Bay

The Armed Forces of the Philippines Western Command has recovered the barge "Hub 18" which was found abandoned near Hasa-Hasa Shoal in the West Philippine Sea. The barge was transporting about a hundred container vans. The container vans contained cars, parts, frozen fish and personal effects.It was towed to Ulugan Bay on June 27 around 7 a.m. The barge was anchored at Ulugan Bay while Philippine authorities continued to coordinate with the Malaysian owner. The abandoned barge had been sighted by a fishing vessel around five nautical miles from Hasa-Hasa Shoal. The Western Command conducted an SAR mission after officials from Coast Guard Palawan District reported an incident involving the barge and the tug "Manyplus 12". The Western Command then immediately dispatched Philippine Navy Islander 314 to conduct an aerial search. The owner of the barge has confirmed that its crew members were rescued by a Vietnamese boat on June 22 and were brought to Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia. A tugboat was to be sent to tow the barge back to Malaysia.

Barge towed to shore by Vietnamese fishing boats

Fisshermen aboard three Vietnamese fishing boats rescued 11 Malaysian sailors from the barge "Hub 18". At about 3:00 p.m., the vessels found the 160-m-barge with the Malaysians drifting about 134 nautical miles off Phan Vinh Island, part of Truong Sa in the East Vietnam Sea. The barge, was carrying 131 containers. Sea conditions were rough, as it was raining heavily and the wind was strong. The fishermen aboard two local vessels from south-central Binh Dinh Province, the "BĐ 97105 TS" and "BĐ 95698 TS", came alongside the drifting barge and took nine men off. Meanwhile, another vessel from central Quang Ngai Province, the "QNg 97068 TS", saved the other two sailors. The local vessels then sent SOS signals and reported the rescue to the Nha Trang Coastal Information Station, which in turn informed the incident to SAR agencies in the region. Upon receiving the signals, the Vietnamese fishing boat "BĐ 95698 TS" came to the scene to provide help. Competent agencies from the Vietnam National Search and Rescue Committee were coordinating with the three Vietnamese fishing boats in towing the barge to a safe place and taking care of the Malaysian sailors.

Barge found, tug missing

On June 22 at 0900 UTC the barge "Hub 18", declared missing since June 9 together with the "Manyplus 12" was found, Odin.tc reports. While the barge was found and the 11 crew on board were accounted safe and Sound, the tug was still missing.