The Jakarta Post | Tue, 03/10/2009 6:25 PM | National
Nine Indonesian sailors have gone missing after a South Korean-registered vessel collided with a Panamanian-flagged cargo ship in rough seas in Japanese territorial waters early Tuesday, a foreign ministry official said as quoted by Antara news agency.
The collision occurred between the South Korean-registered Orchid Pia and the Panamanian-flagged cargo vessel Cygnus Ace off Izu Oshima Island, about 120 km south of Tokyo, Teguh Wardoyo, the foreign affairs ministry's director for protection of Indonesian citizens and business entities, said here Tuesday.
"The Indonesian embassy in Tokyo has contacted Japan's Coast Guard via telephone and received information that nine Indonesian crew members have not been found until now," Wardoyo said.
Search efforts were still going on, he added.
AFP reported that Japanese rescue vessels and aircraft are scouring the sea looking for 16 sailors missing after a collision which coast guard officials say probably sank a South Korean freighter.
Seven South Korean and nine Indonesian sailors on board the Orchid Pia are missing, Japan's Coast Guard said.
"We believe the ship probably sank," a coast guard official said.
“There is nothing we can see around the waters. We found an empty raft. We are also seeing some life jackets on the water surface. But we are yet to find any parts of the vessel."
The accident happened at night and amid low visibility as rains and strong winds battered the ships, the coast guard said.
The Cygnus Ace - a 10,833-tonne automobile carrier with 19 crew aboard, including two Indonesian sailors, - immediately reported the accident to the coast guard and said the South Korean ship had disappeared off its radar.
The 4,255-tonne Orchid Pia failed to respond to radio signals and the coast guard launched five patrol vessels and three aircraft to search for the vessel and its crew, the official said.
The Orchid Pia, carrying 5,051 tonnes of steel coils, was traveling from the port of Kashima in eastern Japan to South Korea.
The Cygnus Ace suffered some damage to its bow, aerial footage on Japanese television showed, but was able to navigate.
There were no reports that any of the crew - 14 Thai, three Myanmar and two Indonesian nationals - were injured on the Cygnus Ace, which was expected to arrive at Yokohama port later Tuesday.
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Reported By Keith Wallis in Hong Kong - Tuesday 10 March 2009
SIXTEEN seafarers are missing after a collision early today between the South Korean flagged 6,934 dwt bulker Orchid Pia and the Panama-registered 4,912 dwt car carrier Cygnus Ace near Izu Oshima about 120km south of Tokyo in Japan.
All those missing, nine Indonesians and seven South Koreans, were onboard the 1988-built Orchid Pia which is believed to have sunk after the collision.
The Japan Coast Guard said five ships and three helicopters had been scrambled by the coast guard in Yokohama and the Maritime Self-Defense Force to look for survivors. The coast guard, which has launched an investigation into the casualty, said an empty lift raft and several life jackets had already been found.
The collision occurred around 02:20 hours on Tuesday in poor weather conditions about 13km east of Izu Oshima island in the Pacific Ocean, the coast guard said.
"We are continuing search and rescue operations, but the 16 crew members remain missing," coast guard spokesman Hidefumi Onoue told Associated Press. "When the collision took place early in the morning, the visibility of the area was very poor due to rain," he added.
None of the 19-strong crew, comprising 14 Thais, three from Myanmar and two Indonesians, onboard the Cygnus Ace was injured although the vessel sustained bow damage.
The Orchid Pia was carrying a cargo of steel and bound for Yosu on Korea’s southern coast, while the Cygnus Ace was heading towards Aichi when the collision occurred.
The Orchid Pia is owned by Seoul-based Pia Shipping and is insured though the Japan Shipowners Mutual Protection & Indemnity Association and classed by the Korean Register of Shipping.
The Cygnus Ace is also insured through the Japan Shipowners Mutual Protection & Indemnity Association and classed by ClassNK.
Nine Indonesian sailors have gone missing after a South Korean-registered vessel collided with a Panamanian-flagged cargo ship in rough seas in Japanese territorial waters early Tuesday, a foreign ministry official said as quoted by Antara news agency.
The collision occurred between the South Korean-registered Orchid Pia and the Panamanian-flagged cargo vessel Cygnus Ace off Izu Oshima Island, about 120 km south of Tokyo, Teguh Wardoyo, the foreign affairs ministry's director for protection of Indonesian citizens and business entities, said here Tuesday.
"The Indonesian embassy in Tokyo has contacted Japan's Coast Guard via telephone and received information that nine Indonesian crew members have not been found until now," Wardoyo said.
Search efforts were still going on, he added.
AFP reported that Japanese rescue vessels and aircraft are scouring the sea looking for 16 sailors missing after a collision which coast guard officials say probably sank a South Korean freighter.
Seven South Korean and nine Indonesian sailors on board the Orchid Pia are missing, Japan's Coast Guard said.
"We believe the ship probably sank," a coast guard official said.
“There is nothing we can see around the waters. We found an empty raft. We are also seeing some life jackets on the water surface. But we are yet to find any parts of the vessel."
The accident happened at night and amid low visibility as rains and strong winds battered the ships, the coast guard said.
The Cygnus Ace - a 10,833-tonne automobile carrier with 19 crew aboard, including two Indonesian sailors, - immediately reported the accident to the coast guard and said the South Korean ship had disappeared off its radar.
The 4,255-tonne Orchid Pia failed to respond to radio signals and the coast guard launched five patrol vessels and three aircraft to search for the vessel and its crew, the official said.
The Orchid Pia, carrying 5,051 tonnes of steel coils, was traveling from the port of Kashima in eastern Japan to South Korea.
The Cygnus Ace suffered some damage to its bow, aerial footage on Japanese television showed, but was able to navigate.
There were no reports that any of the crew - 14 Thai, three Myanmar and two Indonesian nationals - were injured on the Cygnus Ace, which was expected to arrive at Yokohama port later Tuesday.
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Reported By Keith Wallis in Hong Kong - Tuesday 10 March 2009
SIXTEEN seafarers are missing after a collision early today between the South Korean flagged 6,934 dwt bulker Orchid Pia and the Panama-registered 4,912 dwt car carrier Cygnus Ace near Izu Oshima about 120km south of Tokyo in Japan.
All those missing, nine Indonesians and seven South Koreans, were onboard the 1988-built Orchid Pia which is believed to have sunk after the collision.
The Japan Coast Guard said five ships and three helicopters had been scrambled by the coast guard in Yokohama and the Maritime Self-Defense Force to look for survivors. The coast guard, which has launched an investigation into the casualty, said an empty lift raft and several life jackets had already been found.
The collision occurred around 02:20 hours on Tuesday in poor weather conditions about 13km east of Izu Oshima island in the Pacific Ocean, the coast guard said.
"We are continuing search and rescue operations, but the 16 crew members remain missing," coast guard spokesman Hidefumi Onoue told Associated Press. "When the collision took place early in the morning, the visibility of the area was very poor due to rain," he added.
None of the 19-strong crew, comprising 14 Thais, three from Myanmar and two Indonesians, onboard the Cygnus Ace was injured although the vessel sustained bow damage.
The Orchid Pia was carrying a cargo of steel and bound for Yosu on Korea’s southern coast, while the Cygnus Ace was heading towards Aichi when the collision occurred.
The Orchid Pia is owned by Seoul-based Pia Shipping and is insured though the Japan Shipowners Mutual Protection & Indemnity Association and classed by the Korean Register of Shipping.
The Cygnus Ace is also insured through the Japan Shipowners Mutual Protection & Indemnity Association and classed by ClassNK.
