Vessel sinks near northern Japan, three dead

A Cambodia-flagged vessel sank near Aomori Prefecture in northern Japan with three crew members dead.

The 1,915dwt grab dredger, Ming Guang, was initially carrying scrap metals from Hakodate, Japan, and was scheduled to arrive in Gwangyang, South Korea on 29 December 2014, according to data from AISLive. However, the 1986-built ship owned by Grand Shipping suffered a leak and took water on 25 December 2014.

Then, the 10 crew members consist of two Bangladeshis, seven Chinese, and one from Myanmar. The crew members decided to abandon ship just before Ming Guang sank at 0600 hours local time on 26 December 2014.

The Japan Coast Guard was notified of the distressed vessel and arrived at the scene to rescue all 10 crew members from the chilly waters in the strait separating Japan's main Honshu and northernmost Hokkaido islands.

However, three of the crew members were unconscious and they had been sent to hospital for medical aid. Unfortunately, the three crew members were later pronounced dead upon reaching the hospital, according to the Aomori coastguard. The Japanese official did not disclose the nationalities of the unconscious crew and offered no further details.

http://www.information.myanmaronlinecentre.com/vessel-sinks-near-northern-japan-three-dead/