A 1,168 dwt chemical/products tanker, Keoyoung Sun, capsized in strong winds off Shimonoseki on Japan’s southwestern coast on 20 March, leaving 10 of its 11 crewmen dead or missing.
The crew had sent a distress call around 7 am local time after the 1996-built tanker began listing, said the Japan Coast Guard.
A patrol vessel and a helicopter rushed to the scene and retrieved nine of the crewmen.
The seafarers on Keoyoung Sun comprised two South Koreans, eight Indonesians and one Chinese national.
The aforementioned nine men were rushed to the hospital, where eight of them were pronounced dead. The other man is said to be in a stable condition. The other two crew members remain missing and are feared to be trapped under the overturned tanker.
The coast guard said that Keoyoung Sun was carrying 980 tonnes of acrylic acid, but was unable to confirm whether that compound had leaked into the ocean.
Vessel-tracking data from S&P Global shows that Keoyoung Sun departed from the South Korean petrochemical hub of Ulsan on 14 March, arriving in Himeji, Japan, three days later.
The tanker is owned by South Korean company Keoyoung Shipping, which purchased the ship in 2005.
Container News’ attempts to contact Keoyoung Shipping for comments were unsuccessful.
Several accidents were reported in Japan as strong winds swept the country on 20 March. Ninety-four flights were cancelled and in Yokohama, a container tow truck was blown to its side, but no casualties or injuries occurred.
Martina Li
Asia Correspondent
