The Taiwan Kaohsiung District Prosecutors office today (1 February) issued arrest warrants for the Turkish captain of the Palau-flagged boxship Angel, which sank off Kaohsiung port in July 2023, sending 600 containers drifting into the surrounding waters.
The CEO of the management company of Angel, identified as Zamig, an Azerbaijani national, is also wanted.
The prosecutors said evidence suggests that the 2002-built 1,262 TEU ship was in poor condition before the incident and the captain, identified as Serkan, and Zamig, concealed the status of the vessel, resulting in risks to public safety.
Investigations found that Serkan, boarded Angel from Mundra, India. The ship then sailed to Colombo, Sri Lanka to pick up the crew, and left the latter port on 9 June 2023. Angel arrived at Dalian, China, on 24 June 2023, carrying over 1,000 empty boxes.
The following day, Angel left Dalian, intending to bring empty containers to Estonia.
However, on 26 June 2023, water began entering the cargo hold of Angel. Two days later, a crack in the external covering of the main engine was discovered.
Plans were then made to sail to Hong Kong to repair the ship.
Angel never made it to Hong Kong, as the condition of the vessel deteriorated as it crossed the Taiwan Strait, making it untenable to keep sailing.
The captain, assessing that Kaohsiung was the nearest port, made an emergency application on 4 July to enter the Taiwanese port for repairs.
Angel did not meet the criteria for emergency entry, and Taiwan’s Maritime Port Bureau refused the request.
Investigations also showed that the crew became concerned and contacted the International Transport Workers’ Federation for help on 29 June 2023.
The crew and Serkan were replaced, and the captain and the supervisor left the vessel and flew out of Taiwan on 9 July 2023.
By then, the flooding in the ship had worsened and the replacement crew could not reverse the situation.
On 20 July, Angel began listing severely, compelling the 19-man crew to abandon the ship. After a distress call was sent, all of them were rescued and one injured seafarer was sent to a hospital. Angel and 776 of the containers on board sank the following day. In all, 216 containers were promptly recovered and taken to various Taiwanese ports. Eighty-seven boxes sank while being towed and another 110 containers were beached near Kaohisung.
About 500 tonnes of marine fuel leaked from the sunken ship, disrupting marine traffic as the oil had to be cleaned.
Prosecutors allege that Zamig and Serkan did not follow port authorities’ instructions after Angel encountered distress, and wanted to question the men to get a full picture of the incident. Attempts to contact the men, including going through diplomatic channels, have been unsuccessful.
No action will be taken against the crew who manned Angel at the time of the incident, as they were unaware of the condition of the vessel and had strived to stabilise the ship.
Martina Li
Asia Correspondent
