Cargo Ship Goes Missing off Japan Coast

HK cargo ship out of  contact for days

Japanese Coast Guard said it has received a message that a Hong Kong cargo ship with 17 crew members on board has not been in contact with owners while in waters off southern Japan.

According to the report, the 4,143-ton freighter, NEW LUCKY VII, with 17 crew members including three Chinese sailors and 14 Indonesian sailors on board stopped regular communication with its owner company in waters about 100 kilometers west off the Amami Oshima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture. The cargo ship was sailing from Papua New Guinea to China.

The coast guard received a request for a search operation from Hong Kong authorities, despatching several patrol vessels and an airplane to search for the cargo ship.

The weather condition in the sea areas was severe as a low pressure system had developed very strongly, the report said.