Name MV Vinalines Queen Port of registry Vietnam Construction started 2005 Length 190 m | Operator Vinalines Type Bulk carrier Launched 2009 | |
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Identification Call Sign XVHG
IMO number 9290907 Fate Capsized and sunk, 25 December 2011 | ||
MV Vinalines Queen was a bulk carrier of the Vietnam National Shipping Lines, or Vinalines. On its last voyage the ship was travelling from Indonesia to China with more than 54,000 tonnes of nickel ore. The ship disappeared on 25 December 2011 and its fate was initially unknown. On 30 December 2011 a single survivor of its 23-member crew, Dau Ngoc Hung, was found by the British ship London Courage, after floating with a rescue vest for 5 days. He reported that the ship sank quickly in the early hours of the morning after capsizing to the left. It sank after passing the island of Luzon in very bad weather conditions in waters up to 5,000 metres (16,000 ft) deep.
The circumstances leading to the sinking of the vessel are still under investigation. It is thought that the probable cause of sinking was liquefaction of her nickel ore cargo resulting in the shifting of cargo in the holds, which destabilised the vessel causing her to sink.