Three missing after one ship sinks following collision off Chiba Prefecture

Japan Times -- May 27

Three people remained missing as of Sunday evening after two Japanese cargo ships collided during the early morning hours off the coast of Chiba Prefecture, the Japan Coast Guard said.

The Japan-flagged cargo ships Sensho Maru and Sumiho Maru, both 499-ton vessels, collided about 12 km off Cape Inubosaki in Chiba Prefecture at around 2:10 a.m., and the Sensho Maru sank.

Hiraku Fujita, the captain of the Sensho Maru, was rescued, and one of the ship's crew members was later confirmed dead. But as of Sunday evening the other three were still missing, a local coast guard official said.

According to the 3rd Regional Coast Guard Headquarters in Yokohama, a special rescue team discovered the sunken ship lying on the seabed with its starboard side facing up in about 30 meters of water.

The regional coast guard office in the port of Choshi said Akira Yano, 72, of Shizuoka Prefecture, was found inside the ship and was later confirmed dead.

May 27 (Kyodo) - 26日午前2時10分ごろ、千葉県銚子市犬吠埼の南約11・5キロ沖で、広島県呉市の住宝海運の貨物船すみほう丸(499トン)と愛媛県今治市の勝丸海運の貨物船千勝丸(499トン)が衝突した。千勝丸が沈没し、男性乗組員5人のうち4人が行方不明となった。