VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnamese vessel Vinalines Queen manned by 23 sailors was reported to have lost contact with its company Vinalines Shipping, since Sunday.

The vessel was carrying more than 54,000 tonnes of nickel ore and lost contact after passing northeast of the Philippine's Luzon Island heading to Ningde port in China from the Indonesian port of Morowali, according to Nguyen Van Hanh, director of the Vinalines Shipping.

The Viet Nam Maritime Search and Rescue Co-ordination Centre has asked for support from the Philippines and Taiwan to locate the vessel.

Bad weather has so far prevented ships from accessing the area where the vessel lost contact.

No new information related to the lost vessel had been reported since 8pm yesterday.

The search and rescue centre has continued contacting other rescue centres in the region to boost efforts to locate the vessel.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News