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Typhoon Kajiki Drives Cargo Vessel Ashore as Vietnam Battles Widespread Storm Damage
Typhoon Kajiki Drives Cargo Vessel Ashore as Vietnam Battles Widespread Storm Damage
HANOI, Vietnam – A 22,300-deadweight-ton cargo vessel was driven ashore during Typhoon Kajiki’s devastating passage through northern Vietnam this week, highlighting the maritime risks posed by the powerful storm that has claimed at least four lives and caused extensive damage across the region.
The wood chip carrier *Thanh Thanh Dat 99*, a 495-foot (151-meter) Vietnam-flagged vessel, ran aground approximately 70-100 meters from shore near Binh village in Tien Trang Sea during the early hours of August 26, 2025. The ship had been attempting to navigate from Ninh Binh port to Nghi Son port when Typhoon Kajiki’s fierce conditions overwhelmed the vessel’s ability to maintain position.
Vietnamese maritime authorities report that the cargo ship’s ordeal began on the evening of August 25, when the captain made the ill-fated decision to depart during what appeared to be a temporary lull in the storm conditions. The vessel, traveling in ballast condition to load cargo at its destination, encountered rapidly deteriorating weather as Typhoon Kajiki approached.
At 11:30 p.m. local time on August 25, the crew notified authorities that the vessel was drifting from a position approximately two nautical miles offshore. Two hours later, they reported that the ship was dangerously close to shore as hurricane-force winds and massive seas prevented the crew from dropping anchor.
Maritime safety officials confirmed that the crew was uninjured and the vessel remained stable following the grounding incident. Salvage operations to refloat the ship will commence once storm conditions fully subside.
The maritime incident occurred as Typhoon Kajiki, the 14th named storm of the 2025 season, slammed ashore with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph across Vietnam’s northern provinces. The typhoon made official landfall in Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces at around 3 p.m. local time with wind speeds of 133 kph (82 mph).
The storm’s impact extended far beyond the maritime sector. At least three people have been killed. The storm also left at least 13 people wounded, damaged close to 7,000 homes, and flooded 28,800 hectares of rice fields, according to Vietnamese authorities.
Vietnam had undertaken extensive preparatory measures ahead of the typhoon’s arrival. At least half a million people had been evacuated before Kajiki reached the coastline, demonstrating the government’s commitment to minimizing casualties from what officials compared to Typhoon Yagi, which killed approximately 300 people less than a year ago.
The incident underscores growing concerns about increasingly severe weather patterns affecting Southeast Asian shipping routes. Typhoon Kajiki traveled westward across the Pacific, initially impacting the Philippines as a tropical depression before intensifying as it approached the South China Sea.
The storm’s path took it through some of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, where vessels regularly transit between major ports in Vietnam, China, and other regional maritime hubs. The grounding of the *Thanh Thanh Dat 99* serves as a stark reminder of the challenges facing commercial shipping operations during the region’s active typhoon season.
Vietnamese meteorological services had issued advance warnings about the storm’s approach, with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh issuing an urgent directive on Saturday, August 23, 2025, stating that Kajiki was highly likely to affect the sea and mainland of the central regions.
As Typhoon Kajiki continued westward toward the Laos border with diminished intensity, Vietnamese authorities began assessing the full extent of damage across affected provinces. The storm’s passage marked another challenging test for the country’s disaster preparedness systems and maritime safety protocols.
The successful evacuation efforts, while unable to prevent all casualties and damage, demonstrated improved emergency response capabilities developed following previous major storms. However, the grounding of the cargo vessel highlights ongoing vulnerabilities in the maritime sector when severe weather systems impact busy shipping corridors.
Maritime industry analysts will likely scrutinize the decision-making process that led to the *Thanh Thanh Dat 99*’s departure during deteriorating conditions, as lessons learned could inform future shipping safety protocols during typhoon threats.
This is a developing story and additional updates will be provided as more information becomes available from Vietnamese maritime authorities and international shipping organizations.