Japan’s Minesweeper Clashes with Cargo Ship off Hiroshima

A Japanese naval ship has collided with an unidentified cargo ship off the coast of Hiroshima Prefecture, according to the Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force (MSDF).

The 510-ton minesweeper Notojima sustained significant damage in the incident that occurred around midnight on June 26. The ships clashed some 1.5 kilometers northeast of Koneshima Island in the Seto Inland Sea.

There were no reports of injuries among the 41 crew members on the naval ship, nor among the five crew aboard the 699-ton cargo ship.

The minesweeper is being towed to a shipyard on Innoshima Island, Hiroshima, after it lost navigational control.

Media outlets cited local coast guard officials as saying that there were no traces of oil leaks following the incident.

At the time of the collision, Notojima was on its way to an MSDF base in Hiroshima’s Kure city, while the cargo ship was sailing to Fukuyama city from Kitakyushu in Fukuoka Prefecture.

World Maritime News Staff