Vietnamese cargo ship and 23 crew members missing in the S.China Sea

A Vietnamese cargo ship with 23 crew members has gone missing since December 25 in Filipino territorial waters of the South China Sea, authorities said Tuesday. "Right after receiving information, we asked the Philippines and Taiwan to search for it, but they could not reach the scene due to bad weather," said Luu Dinh Tung, deputy director of Vietnam Maritime Rescue Coordination Center. "We have asked for help from Japan's authorities and they are searching for it today." The ship was carrying 54,400 tons of nickel ore from Indonesia to China. Its last message the maritime centre was received at 7 am on December 25, saying that it was listing to one side north-east of Luzon, Tung was quoted as saying by DPA.