Filipino seafarer falls ill on ‘death ship’ in Australia

The so-called death ship, Sage Sagittarius.

SAN FRANCISCO — Adding to an unresolved shipboard mystery, a Filipino seafarer was helicoptered off the “death ship” Sage Sagittarius coal carrier June 8 suffering severe abdominal pains.

The ship has been the focus of an inquest in Sydney, Australia in recent weeks over the mysterious deaths of three seafarers, two of them Filipinos, in a six-week period in 2012. The case has drawn much local media coverage with Australians now referring to the Sage Sagittarius as the “death ship.”

According to a report by Splash24/7.com, a helicopter landed on the vessel controlled by NYK subsidiary Hachiuma Steamship at 11:50 a.m. off the port of Newcastle and took the seafarer to a nearby hospital. His condition is described as stable now.

Within the space of six weeks three men died on the ship in mysterious circumstances, outlined in earlier Splash reports. The inquest has heard claims of the ship’s captain’s gun-dealing, abuse and misuse of his position.

Meanwhile, the inquest in Sydney over three mysterious deaths aboard the Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK)-controlled Sage Sagittarius has revealed some more intriguing details, according to Splash24/7.

It appears that the widow of one of the dead men, engineer Hector Collado, was offered A$48,100 ($37,493) in compensation by NYK if she vowed not to pursue legal action. She has, however, hired legal help with a civil suit in mind.

NYK had told Mrs. Collado that her husband had died of a heart attack while the ship was moored at the Port of Newcastle, she says. However, it has emerged he fell to his death, and prior to the fall was dripping blood from a likely attack from someone onboard.

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