The Taiwanese Coast Guard and National Airborne Service Corp are searching for 12 missing crew members of a cement carrier that sank during a tropical storm in heavy seas in the region.
According to Maritime Executive, five additional crew members of the Chinese-owned vessel were located and saved by a passing Evergreen Line containership.
The National Coast Guard Administration reports that the 10 000-dwt Xing Shun No 1, registered in Panama, first encountered problems on October 30 in the storm, when the vessel was sailing about 50 nautical miles to the west of the Port of Kaohsiung. Three crew members were injured when a large wave crashed over the deck of the ship.
Taiwan’s National Airborne Service Corp airlifted the three injured crew members and transported them to a local hospital.
The 381-foot vessel reported that it had suffered main engine failure in the storm and that it was listing on the afternoon of October 31. The captain reported that the remaining 17 crew members aboard were preparing to abandon ship into lifeboats.
The coast guard sent a patrol boat, which reported that the Xing Shun No 1 had sunk approximately 14 nautical miles off the coast near the Changhua Waihai Wind Farm at 20:45 local time. Helicopters were dispatched to the scene to search for the crew members.
The passing Evergreen vessel found five crew members in the water and dropped a raft to lift them aboard.
The 12 missing crew members are believed to have drifted on one or more rafts. The coast guard’s search continued on November 1.
