Jakarta Globe, August 18, 2010
Wellington, New Zealand. Three crewmen are missing and three bodies have been pulled from cold southerly waters east of New Zealand after a South Korean fishing boat sank early Wednesday morning, officials said.
Some 45 other crew members — a mix of Korean, Indonesian and Filipino nationals — were rescued and taken aboard a New Zealand vessel that was fishing in the area at the time about 700 kilometers east of South Island.
The ship’s master is among the three crew of the Oyang 70 who have not been found, said New Zealand’s Rescue Coordination Center spokesman Mike Roberts.
“We have so far recovered five life rafts but have been advised there was a sixth life raft on board,” he said. “We remain hopeful of locating the three missing men.”
The three recovered bodies were all Indonesian crewmen.
An air force Orion maritime surveillance airplane reached the search area midmorning where six fishing boats were involved in the search effort.
Air Force spokesman Squadron Leader Kavae Tamariki said conditions were calm but very cold and low-lying sea fog was blanketing the search area.
New Zealand’s Rescue Coordination Center ordered the search after receiving an alert from the vessel’s emergency position-indicating radio beacon. Vessels nearby also picked up a mayday call from the stricken vessel.
Roberts said weather conditions did not seem to be a factor in the sinking of the 82-meter fishing factory ship.
“We understand she was trawling, recovering her fishing gear with fish in the nets, and she suddenly capsized and sank within 10 minutes,’’ he told National Radio.
Oyang 70, a 38-year-old vessel registered on the Korean Shipping Registry, is owned by Sajo Oyang Corp., a company incorporated in Korea. Oyang 70 has operated in New Zealand waters since the 1980s under charter to New Zealand-based company Southern Storm (2007) Ltd.
Associated Press
