Update: Two Cargo Ships in Trouble in Japan Sea

Cambodia-flagged cargo ship Tong Yang Hai is reportedly sinking and Panama-flagged bulk carrier CSE Clipper Express ran aground in the Sea of Japan in the early hours today, local time.

Tong Yang Hai reportedly issued a distress signal, reporting water ingress and developing list, some 280 km northwest off  Japan’s Ishikawa Prefecture, in the Sea of Japan, according to local media reports.

The 2005-built, 5,000 dwt ship was carrying coal from the Russian port of Nahodka to Pohang, South Korea.

Japan Coast Guard alerted the passing ships of the accident, and dispatched a helicopter and patrol boats to rescue the crew of the sinking ship, eight Chinese and six Vietnamese nationals. The crew have been safely evacuated.

The rescue operation was carried out in rough waters, accompanied by snow and strong gusts of winds. It is understood that the ship is currently without power and adrift, listing some 10 degrees.

The 2005-built, 28,423 dwt CSE Clipper Express ran aground some 400 meters off the coast of Japan’s Honshu Island, after it was caught in a severe snowstorm, with winds reaching up to 25 m/sec.

Twenty crew members aboard the vessel at the time of the accident, eleven Taiwanese and nine Chinese nationals, are still on the ship, as the authorities decided the conditions are unsafe for a rescue operation. All the crew members are reportedly unharmed.

World Maritime News Staff