History
Name	MV Vinalines Queen
Operator	Vinalines
Port of registry	Vietnam
Launched	2005[1]
Identification	Call sign: XVHG IMO number: 9290907[1]
Fate	Capsized and sunk, 25 December 2011[2]
General characteristics
Type	Bulk carrier
Tonnage	31,247 GT[1] 56,040 DWT[1]
Length	190 m (620 ft)[1]
Beam	32 m (105 ft)[1]
Crew	23

MV Vinalines Queen was a bulk carrier of the Vietnam National Shipping Lines, or Vinalines. On its last voyage the ship was travelling from Indonesia to China with more than 54,000 tonnes of nickel ore. The ship disappeared on 25 December 2011 and its fate was initially unknown. On 30 December 2011 a single survivor of its 23-member crew, Dau Ngoc Hung, was found by the British ship London Courage, after floating with a rescue vest for 5 days. He reported that the ship sank quickly in the early hours of the morning after capsizing to the left. It sank after passing the island of Luzon in very bad weather conditions in waters up to 5,000 metres (16,000 ft) deep.^[2]

It is thought that the probable cause of sinking was liquefaction of her nickel ore cargo resulting in the shifting of cargo in the holds, which destabilised the vessel causing her to sink.^[3]

References