SEATRAN FERRY 12

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Course/Position

Latest news

Ferry sank enroute to Taiwan - five missing

The 'Seatran Ferry 12' (ex 'Olive Maru No. 8) was caught in rough weather in the Taiwan Strait off Kaohsiung and issued A distress signal was received in the night of Oct 23 around 10 p.m., and a tug reached the scene first to try to pull it to safety. It succeeded in connecting a line to the ship, but the mission failed due to rough weather conditions. At 10:53 p.m., the CGA received a report that the ferry had sunk on the open seas 30 nautical miles west of Kaohsiung. A rescue aircraft sent by the CGA found five survivors in life jackets in the area at around 12:30 a.m. on Oct 24, and two who had obvious injuries were sent to the hospital. At 6:15 a.m., a CGA rescue ship found an empty life raft in another area thought to be launched by crew members. The main engines and auxiliary engines were out of order before the ship sunk. Five crew members remained missing, and the SAR operation was ongoing. The ferry had been bought by the Thailand Seatran Ferry company in Japan and was under way from Japan to the Gulf of Siam to be deployed on routes in the region. All 10 crew members were Thai nationalities. Report with photos: https://focustaiwan.tw/society/202010240012