Eight Thai fishermen were rescued after their boat sank following a collision with a commercial vessel in the Gulf of Thailand on Friday, April 3.
The incident occurred at approximately 05:58 local time when the 83-tonne trawler Sri-Nopparat 11 was struck amidships by a larger vessel, which the fishermen identified as a tanker, some 40 kilometres south of Sattahip.
The wooden trawler broke in half from the force of the collision, though all eight fishermen on board were able to jump into the water and were rescued by the crew of a nearby vessel.
The rescued Thai sailors said the tanker continued to sail away afterward without even stopping to render assistance.
The fishermen noted that the tanker was the Panamanian-flagged Sun Flora based on the identification details that they saw on its stern as it left the area.
Local police officials have launched an investigation to determine whether the tanker's crew deliberately left the Thai fishermen adrift in the water after the collision.
Sun Flora's AIS track shows that it had sailed out of Ho Chi Minh City on Wednesday, April 1, and had docked at the Port of Bangkok by 01:20 UTC on Sunday, April 5.