A tanker carrying about 1,800 tons of crude oil and 100 tons of diesel fuel has exploded near the Vietnamese coast and sunk, the Sovfracht Maritime Bulletin reported Thursday according to RIA Novosti.
The Nhat Thuan had 23 crew members on board when the explosion occurred on Wednesday, the web publication reported, adding that 20 had been rescued and a search was underway for the three missing.
The Nhat Thuan was built in 1970 and was registered as being decommissioned. The bulletin said the tanker worked on the shelf and carried oil to large-capacity tankers.