Vestas 11th Hour Racing, a British Cayman registered vessel with a multinational team competing in the Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18, has collided with a fishing vessel.
Credit : A Ross
The incident occurred approximately 30 miles from the finish of Leg 4, outside of Hong Kong waters. Race Control at Volvo Ocean Race headquarters was informed of the collision by the team moments after it happened at approximately 17:23 UTC on Friday January 19, 2018 (01:23 local time on Saturday morning).
The Vestas 11th Hour Racing team, none of whom were injured in the collision, issued a Mayday distress call on behalf of the other vessel, alerting the Hong Kong Marine Rescue Coordination Centre (HKMRCC) and undertook a search and rescue mission.
HKMRCC informed Race Control that a commercial vessel in the area was able to rescue nine of the crew and that a tenth crew member was taken by helicopter to hospital. HKMRCC has since confirmed the death of the air-lifted crew member.
Vestas 11th Hour Racing, together with Volvo Ocean Race, is now focused on providing immediate support to those affected by this incident and are co-operating with the authorities in the ongoing investigation.
On behalf of the Vestas 11th Hour Racing and the Volvo Ocean Race, we offer our deepest condolences to the loved ones of the deceased.
From K Wilson
