Japan Coast Guard Suspends Cargo Ship Rescue Efforts on Typhoon
Japan Coast Guard Suspends Cargo Ship Rescue Efforts on Typhoon
(Bloomberg) -- The Japanese coast guard suspended search and rescue efforts for crew members of a cargo ship transporting cattle that overturned in the East China Sea last week, as Typhoon Haishen approaches the region.
Authorities will decide whether to resume the search after the typhoon passes, a spokesperson for the Japan Coast Guard said on Sunday. The ship with 43 crew and 5,800 cattle capsized after engine trouble and as Typhoon Maysak swept through.
One seafarer from the Philippines was found alive, while another, who was pulled from the water on Friday, was pronounced dead. Four of the crew are from Australia and New Zealand, and the rest from the Philippines.
A wave tilted the Gulf Livestock 1’s hull to the right and the vessel overturned after its engine stopped, the survivor told authorities. A distress signal from the vessel, which was transporting cattle to China from New Zealand, was received when the ship was about 185 kilometers (115 miles) west of Japan’s Amami island.
The incident has renewed concerns about animal welfare issues in the livestock export trade in Australia and New Zealand, which suspended all live exports following the shipwreck, according to the New Zealand Herald.
Haishen is on track to approach Japan’s southern island of Kyushu, forcing companies to shutter plants and affecting transportation services. The typhoon may approach and make landfall on Kagoshima prefecture on Sunday evening, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
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