MV VIVO ARYA crew rescued after vessel sinks off Perak

All 19 crew members of the sand suction dredger MV VIVO ARYA were successfully rescued after the vessel sank in waters approximately 25 nautical miles northwest of Pulau Pasir Hitam, Perak.

The emergency was reported early in the morning via VHF radio, prompting a search and rescue operation involving the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA), the Marine Department Malaysia (JLM), and various vessels from the maritime community.

Rescue efforts were distributed among several ships: nine crew members were saved by MV VIVO DIYA, nine others were located in a liferaft and rescued by MV YAO DE 1, and one crew member, identified as 57-year-old Chinese national Tang Jifu, was recovered by the MMEA boat PERKASA 1238.

Following the incident, the Marine Department Malaysia issued safety warnings via the NAVTEX system and established a Virtual Aid to Navigation (Virtual AtoN) to mark the location of the shipwreck and prevent further navigational hazards.