SENSHOU MARU

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Latest news

Third body retrieved

Divers of the Japan Coast Guard on May 29 concluded their search inside the sunken "Sensho Maru" after searching all the rooms inside the vessel including the crew's cabins and engine room and were not able to find the missing two crew members. They will continue to search around the area where the vessel sank. One more crew member was retrieved on May 30. A diver searching near the vessel saw the feet of the third missing crew member appear from a window.

Rescue ship Chiyoda joined search for survivors

Japan Coast Guard divers retrieved the lifeless body of a crew member from the "Senshou Maru" on May 28, a day after they heard tapping sounds from within the overturned vessel. The crew member, who was found around 2 p.m., was showing no signs of life. The man has been identified as Kazufumi Kamimura, 60, first officer from Ibusuki, Kagoshima Prefecture. The search for survivors had resumed an hour earlier. The 3rd Regional Coast Guard Headquarters deployed 17 divers, including those of its special rescue team, who focussed on the engine room and crew quarters located in the stern of the ship. The "Senshou Maru" has a three-deck structure that houses eight residential quarters, according to Katsumaru Kaiun, the company that owns the ship. Coast Guard divers searched all of the crew members’ rooms, except for one that was locked, on May 27, but they could not find any survivors. It was believed the tapping sound did not come from the locked room. The team dove on seven occasions on May 27 to check for signs of life in the sunken ship. The divers reported the tapping noise around 1 p.m. When a diver tapped the ship’s hull with a plastic hammer three to four times, he heard the sound of tapping that appeared to be coming from inside the ship two to three seconds later. The Maritime Self-Defense Force’s submarine rescue ship, "Chiyoda", joined the search and rescue operation on the afternoon of May 28. The vessel has special equipment that can rescue sailors from sunken ships without the risk of injury from water pressure. The Coast Guard has deployed three patrol ships to search around the clock. Two Coast Guard aircraft joined the operation on May 28. Hiraku Fujita, 60, the captain of the "Senshou Maru", who was awakened by a loud noise and water gushing into the ship right after. He could reach a rescue raft and made it to safety. The two missing crew members were Hiroshi Seno, 69, chief engineer from Akita, and Saigo Umakoshi, 67, first engineer from Imabari, Ehime Prefecture. Akira Yano, a 72-year-old second officer from Shizuoka, was found dead after the accident. Reports with photos and video: http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201905280035.html https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2019/05/3f717928a718-update1-another-crew-member-dead-after-ship-collision-off-japan-coast.html

Sunken wreck losing oil, search for missing crew continued

On May 27 a team was working on containing an oil leak from the wreck of the "Senshou Maru". The Japanese Coast Guard continued to look for the missing crew members and dispatched divers to check the sunken vessel. There was hope that survivors may be discovered after noises believed to be coming from the ship were detected. A faint knocking sound was heard from the "Sensho Maru" on May 28 after a diver struck the vessel’s hull with a hammer while searching the crew quarters. The coast guard was investigating whether the sound was made by a missing crew member. Two crew members remained missing after the accident 12 kilometers off Inubosaki, Chiba Prefecture, early on May 26. Another crew member was found with no vital signs on May 27 at 2 p.m. as divers resumed their search for those still missing. The Coastguard identified the missing sailors as Kazufumi Kamimura, 60, Hiroshi Seno, 69, and Saigo Umakoshi, 67. The crew member who died was Akira Yano, 72. Report with photo: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20190528/p2a/00m/0na/021000c