A maritime tragedy has unfolded in the turbulent waters of the South China Sea after a Singapore-flagged cargo ship carrying 21 Filipino crew members capsized near one of the region’s most fiercely contested maritime zones.
Chinese authorities confirmed that two crew members have died and four remain missing, as search and rescue operations continue amid difficult conditions.
The vessel, identified by the Philippine Coast Guard as the Devon Bay, was en route to Guangdong Province in southern China when contact was lost on Thursday night.
It was later found to have overturned about 100 kilometres north-west of Scarborough Shoal, a small but strategically significant reef that has become a flashpoint in ongoing territorial disputes.
China’s Coast Guard and naval forces from the People’s Liberation Army’s Southern Theatre Command launched a large-scale rescue effort, managing to save 15 people from the sea.
Fourteen of those rescued were reported to be in stable condition, offering a measure of relief in an otherwise grim situation.
The search for the missing crew members continues, with rescue teams racing against time in open waters known for sudden changes in weather and strong currents.
The Philippines Coast Guard confirmed it had dispatched two vessels and aircraft to assist in the rescue operation, underscoring the urgency of the response and the concern for the Filipino sailors aboard the stricken ship.
Beyond the human tragedy, the incident has once again drawn attention to the volatile nature of the South China Sea. Scarborough Shoal, close to where the ship went down, is at the centre of competing claims by China and the Philippines, with both nations maintaining regular patrols in the area. Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also assert overlapping territorial claims, making the region one of the world’s most complex maritime disputes.