Burmese oil tanker crewman airlifted to Taiwan after being stabbed at sea, but dies in transit

A Myanmar national died after being airlifted to Taiwan for emergency treatment following a stabbing incident aboard an oil tanker north of Pengjia Islet yesterday, January 1.

Taiwan’s Coast Guard received a request for emergency assistance at 6:10 pm stating that a crew member on the Cook-Island-flagged oil tanker NEW PROGRESS was seriously injured after being stabbed twice during a fight with another crew member. The injured crew member had low blood pressure and a weak heartbeat, according to the report.

As the NEW PROGRESS was not situated within the 12 mile limit that constitutes Taiwan’s territorial waters, was not a domestically owned ship, and the crew member was not a Taiwanese national, the rescue case lay outside of the Coast Guard’s jurisdiction, according to a Coast Guard officer quoted in a Liberty Times report.

A Ministry of National Defense search and rescue helicopter was dispatched, on humanitarian grounds, to airlift the injured man from the vessel, situated 19 nautical miles north of Pengjia Islet at the time.

Search and rescue personnel flew 27-year-old Wai Phy Aumg to Taipei City’s Songshan Airport. Aumg had suffered two stab wounds, one to the chest, and one in the abdomen.

According to China Times, Aumg lost vital signs by the time the helicopter landed at Songshan Airport at 9:12 pm, and was rushed to Tri-Services General Hospital by ambulance. At around 10:00 pm, Aumg was declared dead at the hospital.

In the meantime, the NEW PROGRESS headed towards the Port of Keelung. A Coast Guard patrol boat was dispatched to escort the vessel into port. After entering the port, Coast Guard officers will board the vessel and investigate the crime.

Cover picture: The NEW PROGESS at the Port of Kaohsiung, 2017,  Ya Ray Yang via Vessel Finder.

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