The Vietnamese cargo vessel that sank in a contested area of the South China Sea on Saturday was engaged in island‑building activities aimed at reinforcing Vietnam’s sovereignty claims, officials said, as rescuers continued the search for 15 missing crew members.
The vessel, named Khoi Nguyen 18, was carrying 62 crew members when it began taking on water and sank near the Spratly Islands, a group of over 100 reefs and small landforms in the South China Sea where multiple nations assert competing sovereignty claims.
A distress signal from survivors in a raft was first detected by a Chinese rescue vessel on Saturday evening, prompting a joint search and rescue operation that has so far rescued 47 individuals. Lin Jian, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, announced this at a Beijing briefing on Monday, noting that Vietnamese authorities have expressed gratitude for China’s swift response. Teams from China, Vietnam and the Philippines continue to search for the remaining missing persons.
Both Chinese and Vietnamese authorities place the sinking site between Fiery Cross Reef, under Chinese control, and Discovery Great Reef, administered by Vietnam.
These reefs are part of the Spratly Islands, together with the Paracel Islands, which have long been a focal point of competition between China and Vietnam, each seeking to assert sovereignty by reclaiming land and constructing military facilities on the disputed features.
The Khoi Nguyen 18 was reportedly conducting work on such a project at the time of its sinking, according to a Vietnamese official who spoke to The New York Times on condition of anonymity.
Vietnamese officials have publicly attributed the sinking to adverse weather conditions but have not disclosed the ship’s intended destination or cargo.
Under a United Nations maritime safety resolution to which Vietnam is a signatory, large cargo vessels must keep their automatic identification system (AIS) transponders active at all times. However, tracking data indicated that the Vietnam‑registered ship had not transmitted location data for months.
Constructed in 2017, the vessel measures approximately 230 feet in length and has a carrying capacity of roughly 1,900 metric tons.
The official noted that the ship had been operating regularly between Cam Ranh, home to a major Vietnamese naval port, and the Spratly Islands.
Vietnamese government records identify the ship’s owner as Khoi Nguyen Trading, Import‑Export and Transportation Company. A representative of the firm, reached by phone and speaking on condition of anonymity, said the vessel had been assigned to a high‑priority Spratly Islands project overseen by Dacinco Construction Investment Company, a firm linked to island‑building activities.
Based in Da Nang, Vietnam, Dacinco has been acquiring cutter‑suction dredgers from Royal IHC, a Dutch shipbuilder, since 2022. These specialized vessels can extract sand from the seabed, facilitating land‑reclamation operations.
Calls to Dacinco went unanswered.
According to SCSPI, a Beijing‑based maritime affairs think tank, these dredgers have been widely employed in reclaiming Namyit Island, Pearson Reef and Barque Canada Reef, markedly improving Vietnam’s operational efficiency, the organization noted last year.
In June 2024, Vietnamese state media reported an injury to a Dacinco worker at a site on Barque Canada Reef, one of the Spratly formations that Vietnam has been developing.
The company has also been actively recruiting labor through social media, advertising openings for crane operators and truck drivers for offshore construction projects in the Spratly archipelago.
Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Both China and Vietnam have repeatedly protested each other’s island‑building activities over the years, while U.S. diplomatic efforts to temper the expansionist momentum have so far failed to yield results.
Last year, as Vietnam intensified its Spratly projects—against a backdrop of Chinese land reclamation of approximately 3,200 acres over three years—China’s Foreign Ministry condemned what it called an “illegal occupation.” Vietnam has leveled comparable accusations against China, which has more recently focused on the Paracel Islands, which Vietnam asserts in full.
However, these tensions were momentarily set aside over the weekend as the search for the missing crew persisted.
On Sunday, Pham Thu Hang, a spokesperson for Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, expressed gratitude to Chinese rescuers for their assistance.
