The rescue of five Malaysian sailors off central Thua Thien-Hue Province is facing difficulty, so a Vietnamese rescue agency is considering using a helicopter to take the sailors ashore today. The sailors are crew members of the 3,000-ton Onnekas One, an Malaysian oil tanker, which has run aground about 300 meters off the province shore. The ship was damaged by a fire and explosions on board when it was travelling through international waters on December 23. The ship was then towed by Singapore’s Sebang T7 ship to China for repairs and when they were travelling off Thua Thien-Hue, violent winds caused troubles for the Singaporean ship that later had to cut the guide-rope between it and the Malaysian ship. As a result, Onnekas One drifted at sea and then drifted to an area near the seashore in An Loc Hamlet, Quang Dien District. The ship then ran aground. After receiving the information, the Zone 2 Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Center (Da Nang MRCC) used line-throwing devices to tow the life rafts of the ship in distress ashore. However, such line-throwing devices can only reach a distance of 200 meters, while the ship was aground 300 meters away, so the agency later decided to use small ships to approach the ship. However, due to violent waves yesterday, the small boats failed to get close to the Malaysian ship until yesterday night. Therefore, the Da Nang MRCC decided that today, December 25, if the waves continue to be fierce the agency will use helicopters to take the sailors ashore, Tran Van Long, director of the agency of Da Nang MRCC, said. The supply of food, drinks and other materials to the aground ship has been maintained since it was discovered, said Senior Lieutenant Colonel Le Van Phuong, vice commander of the provincial Border Guard.