Three Myanmar sailors adrift at sea for 16 days rescued by Vietnamese tanker

The sailors were rescued at 11.12am on Sept 24, 2024 and were given medical check-ups, food, clothing, and shelter aboard the vessel. – Eleven Media/ANN

YANGON: Three Myanmar sailors adrift at sea for around 16 days were rescued by a Vietnamese-flagged palm oil tanker, according to the Ministry of Information.

Efforts to return the rescued Myanmar nationals to Myanmar’s maritime territory involved collaboration between the Navy and the Directorate of Marine Administration.

The Vietnamese-flagged palm oil tanker M.T PVT Neptune, en route from Phuket, Thailand, to Haldia, India, spotted the three Myanmar sailors on a makeshift raft approximately 124 nautical miles west of Kawthoung, within Myanmar’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

The sailors were rescued at 11.12am on Sept 24, 2024. They were given medical check-ups, food, clothing, and shelter aboard the vessel, and the incident was reported to the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centers (MRCC) of both Myanmar and Thailand.

The MRCC then contacted the Ministry of Transport and Communications and the Directorate of Marine Administration for further investigation.

Following confirmation of the sailors' identities, arrangements were made for their return to Myanmar’s waters. A naval vessel from the Pammawaddy Navy Base was dispatched to retrieve them near Hainggyi Island, and the transfer was completed at 10.50pm on Sept 25.

The three sailors were identified as Kyaw Kyaw (also known as Kyaw Gyi, aged 41), Phyo Wei, aged 28, and Kyaw Paing Oo, aged 28, all from Aung Hlaing Village in Labutta Township. They were taken to a military hospital on Hainggyi Island for medical treatment and are being prepared for transport back to their hometown. – Eleven Media/ANN.

Source: https://www.thestar.com.my/aseanplus/aseanplus-news/2024/09/30/three-myanmar-sailors-adrift-at-sea-for-16-days-rescued-by-vietnamese-tanker