A collision between two box ships near the Port of Shanghai late on Sunday evening has claimed the life of one crew member with a further five feared dead.
The accident off the Yangtze River mouth in the East China Sea – which resulted in the sinking of one of the vessels - occurred at about 23:30 Bejing time when the 1700-TEU Oceana apparently experienced steering gear failure, causing it to ram into the Xin Qi Sheng 69.
The impact substantially damaged the hull of the Xin Qi, causing it to flounder, with all 650 containers on board.
Its crew of 16 leapt overboard to safety and subsequent emergency operations managed to pull ten of the seafarers from the water.
Unfortunately one of their colleagues had already drowned.
Search and salvaging efforts by Chinese authorities for the missing crew members and lost containers are continuing.
As the damaged Oceana remains moored close to the scene of the collision, the vessel’s German owners, Leonhardt & Blumberg, are said to have already launched an investigation into the steering mechanism’s failure.
