The officers and crew of Evergreen Line’s containership EVER DIADEM joined forces with another ship to rescue thirty seafarers forced to abandon their burning fishing vessel, off the coast of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean, on 9 July.
While en route from Singapore to Durban, EVER DIADEM’s crew found the distressed seafarers drifting in two lifeboats having abandoned flaming HSIANG FUH No. 6, a Taiwan-flagged fishing boat.
Captain of EVER DIADEM notified MRCC (Maritime Rescue Coordination Center, South Africa) and ordered his crew to stand by for a rescue operation. In view of the numbers involved, Captain Tai also requested SBI ANTARES, a bulk carrier registered in Marshall Islands, and located nearby, to join the rescue mission. The EVER DIADEM rescued sixteen from one of the lifeboats and SBI ANTARES then followed up by saving those from the other lifeboat.
Those rescued included three from Taiwan, seven Filipinos, four from Vietnam and sixteen Indonesians. Evergreen notified the owner of the fishing boat, requesting that they take responsibility for their crew in Durban and arrange their repatriation.
