TOKYO, March 1, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – More than a dozen crew members of a cargo
ship are missing after it collided with a fishing boat in waters off northern
Japan, a coast guard official said Sunday.
The 1,989-tonne Belize-flagged cargo ship Guoxing 1 was carrying some
3,000 tonnes of iron scrap and rapidly took in water after the hit, Japan
Coast Guard spokesman Tomoyuki Hanzawa told AFP.
The collision between the Guoxing 1 and a 138-tonne Japanese fishing boat
happened around 10 pm (1300) GMT Saturday and the cause is unknown, he added.
The Guoxing 1 had a crew of 14 Chinese and Vietnamese nationals, of which
13 are still missing and the coast guard is searching for them, Hanzawa said.
One Vietnamese crew member was rescued by a nearby ship, while the 15
Japanese crew members of the fishing boat are safe.