Japan Coast Guard suspends rescue ops, search for sunken cattle ship

The 11,947-ton Gulf Livestock 1 cargo vessel sails through Port Phillip Heading into Bass Strait Victoria in Australia, April 6, 2019. (AP Photo/Graham Flett)

MANILA, Philippines — The Japanese Coast Guard has temporarily suspended search and rescue operations for crew members of the Panamanian-flagged livestock vessel Gulf Livestock 1 that sunk off Japan as Typhoon 10, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Kristine (international name: Haishen), nears Japan, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Saturday.

“The DFA, through the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo and the Philippine Consulate General in Osaka, reports that in light of the expected arrival of Typhoon 10 in Japan, the Japanese Coast Guard has temporarily suspended its search and rescue operations,” the foreign affairs department said in a bulletin.

Meanwhile, the DFA added that the two Filipino crew members who were rescued from the sunken ship have been in contact with their families.

The foreign affairs department also said that the  Philippine Embassy in Tokyo, the Philippine Consulate General in Osaka, and the Philippine Overseas Labor Office continue to monitor and coordinate the situation with the Japanese Coast Guard, shipowner, and the Filipinos’ manning agency.

Two Filipino crew members, identified as Eduardo Sareno and Jay-nel Rosales, were rescued from the ship, which was carrying a crew of 39 Filipinos, two New Zealanders and two Australians.

The ship, which was traveling from Napier, New Zealand to the Chinese port of Tangshan, capsized off Japan’s west coast as Typhoon Maysak passed through the area.

/MUF