Filipino among 14 missing as cargo ship, fishing boat collide near Japan

TOKYO: More than 14 crew members of a cargo ship were missing after it collided with a fishing boat in the Territorial Waters of northern Japan.

Japan Coast Guard spokesman, Tomoyuki Hanzawa said Sunday the 1,989-tonne Belize-flagged cargo ship Guoxing-1, was carrying some 3,000 tonnes of iron scrap and rapidly took in water after the hit. 

The collision between the Guoxing 1 and a 138-tonne Japanese fishing boat occurred around 10 pm (1300) GMT Saturday night and the cause of the collision is yet to be ascertained, he added.

The spokesman further said Belize-flagged cargo ship had a crew of 14 Chinese and Vietnamese nationals, of whom 13 are still misplaced, adding that the coast guard teams are searching for them.

It said one Vietnamese crew member was rescued by a nearby ship, while the 15 Japanese crew members of the fishing boat are safe.