Crewman Falls Overboard from Bulker off Taiwan

August 27, 2019, by World Maritime News

A seafarer went overboard from a Capesize bulk carrier off Taiwan a few days ago, the Philippine Coast Guard said.

As informed, the incident involving the Hong Kong-flagged bulker KSL Singapore ocurred some 8.26 nautical miles southwest of Orchid Island, Taiwan.

The crewman, a 23-year old Filipino national, has been identified as Errald Danielle C. Caniel.

Caniel was last seen on board KSL Singapore at around 1:30 pm on August 24, 2019, and noticed missing around 3 am the following day, according to the coast guard.

At the time of the incident, the vessel was en route from Zhanjiang to Jingtang, China.

An immediate search of the ship was conducted without success. Following notifications to the Philippines MRCC and the HK MRCC, the KSL Singapore turned on a reciprocal course as part of the search and rescue operation, man-overboard signals were also broadcast to ships along the route, MTI Network separately said.

As part of the operation, Hong Kong MRCC deployed a fixed-wing aircraft on August 25, Taiwan MRCC deployed two patrol boats and it’s understood the Philippine Marine Police dispatched two multi-purpose emergency vessels to assist in the search.

On August 27, the KSL Singapore again back tracked on its original route providing allowance for drift. The SAR operation was sadly terminated after 3 days of continuous searching to find the missing seafarer, who remains unaccounted for, according to MTI Network.

An investigation into the matter has been launched.

Built in China in 2014, the 201,000 KSL Singapore is owned by Norway’s Golden Ocean Group.

Back in July 2014, another incident occurred on the abovementioned bulk carrier when a crew member was found trapped between the elevator while off Ningbo, China. He was later declared dead, according to VesselsValue’s data.