A livestock ship carrying nearly 6,000 cattle from New Zealand to China with 43 crew members on board capsized off the shore of Japan. The catastrophe happened when the ship lost an engine due to bad weather in the East China Sea.
The Japanese coastguard has reported that one lone crew member was rescued after the boat capsized. Sareno Edvarodo, a 45-year-old chief officer from the Philippines, was rescued on Wednesday night. Edvarodo, who is currently hospitalized but in good health, was able to tell the coastguard exactly what happened. According to Reuters, “When the ship capsized, crew were instructed to put on lifejackets. Edvarodo told the coastguard he jumped into the water and did not see any other crew members before he was rescued.”
Gulf Livestock 1 — a 11,947-ton ship with cargo of 5,867 cows — sent a distress call from the west of Amami Oshima island in southwestern Japan on Wednesday. The distress call was made while Typhoon Maysak wreaked havoc in the area with strong winds and large waves.
Spokesman Yuichiro Higashi at the Japanese coast guard’s regional headquarters said the typhoon has now passed and the weather is more stable for ongoing search efforts.
The coastguard reported that the ship’s crew members include 39 from the Philippines, two from New Zealand, and two from Australia. The search is still on for the rest of the crew members. Three vessels, four airplanes, and two divers are taking part in the search, the coastguard said.
The Gulf Livestock 1 departed Napier in New Zealand on Aug. 14, bound for the Port of Jingtang in Tangshan, China. The journey was expected to take about 17 days, New Zealand’s foreign ministry told Reuters.
