Southeast Asia Information Port News (www.dnyxxg.com) On February 17th, the Singapore-flagged bulk carrier "Mandy" lost power after a fire in its engine room in the waters off Weihai, Shandong Province. The ship drifted with the wind, leaving 25 foreign crew members stranded. Two died and one was injured.
Upon receiving a distress call from the Shandong Maritime Search and Rescue Center, the Beihai Rescue Bureau coordinated with the nearby vessels "Beihai Rescue 119" and "Beihai Rescue 203," as well as the "Beihai Rescue 113" on standby in Yantai, to proceed to the rescue. Simultaneously, two rescue helicopters were dispatched for a night mission.
At approximately 10 PM on the 17th, the rescue helicopters and vessels arrived at the scene. Waves were 2 meters high, and visibility was low at night. One rescue helicopter landed on the deck of the distressed vessel to conduct rescue operations, while the other helicopter monitored the ship's movements from the air, ready to take over in case of any emergencies.
Because the distressed vessel's helipad had a load-bearing capacity of only 4 tons, less than the helicopter's 11-ton full load weight, the captain adopted a "light landing" approach to minimize pressure on the deck. Lifeguards guided the 16 crew members to the engine room quickly and then to a safe area, while the remaining crew remained on the "Mandy."
At 2:00 AM on February 18th, the fire on the "Mandy" was brought under control, and the engine room was no longer engulfed in flames. The remaining crew members found the bodies of the two missing persons in the engine room.
