The Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) Singapore successfully coordinated the rescue of all 25 crew members from the Liberia-registered container vessel MSC HERMES III on September 22, 2026. The ship encountered trouble and sent a distress alert at approximately 8:45 a.m. Singapore time while operating within Singapore’s Maritime Search and Rescue Region (MSRR), roughly 300 kilometers east of Vietnam, according to the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).
Vessel Distress and Immediate Coordination
Following the distress alert, MRCC Singapore broadcasted a request for nearby vessels to render assistance. Three ships operating in the vicinity responded to the call. The container vessel MSC RUBY successfully recovered all 25 crew members after they had abandoned the troubled MSC HERMES III into a lifeboat. Vessel-tracking data indicated that the responding ship MSC RUBY was traveling from Singapore to Ningbo, China, at the time of the incident.
Rescue Operations and Regional Jurisdictions
Singapore’s Maritime Search and Rescue Region spans more than 1 million square kilometers of the South China Sea. The International Maritime Organization assigns these search-and-rescue zones based on regional agreements and a country’s operational capabilities. Alongside MSC RUBY, another vessel, MSC Florentina, which was traveling from Paranagua, Brazil, to Ningbo, was also in the area and moving at slower speeds during the coordination effort, as reported by Marine Insight.
Crew Safety and Return to Shore
The MPA confirmed that all 25 crew members are safe, and no injuries were reported following the evacuation. MRCC Singapore is currently working closely with the Vietnamese MRCC to coordinate logistics for the safe return of the rescued crew members to shore. Neither the MPA nor secondary reports provided details regarding the specific cause of the distress on MSC HERMES III or the final status of the container vessel after the crew abandoned ship.
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