The Japanese coastguard said on Friday it was still searching for more than 40 crew members who went missing after a ship carrying cattle from New Zealand to China capsized in stormy weather in the East China Sea.
A lone crew member from the Gulf Livestock 1, which went missing, has been rescued so far. Three vessels, four airplanes and two divers were taking part in the search, the coastguard said.
UAE-based Gulf Navigation issued a statement saying the Panamanian-flagged Gulf Livestock 1 was their vessel.
“Our hearts go out to those onboard and their families at this time,” a Gulf Navigation spokesman said. “We also express deep regret for the sad loss of the livestock on board. We are monitoring the situation closely and working closely with those involved in rescue efforts. We pray that there are other survivors.”
The ship, with a cargo of nearly 6,000 cows, sent a distress call from the west of Amami Oshima Island in south-western Japan on Wednesday as Typhoon Maysak lashed the area with strong winds and heavy seas.
Sareno Edvarodo, a 45-year-old chief officer from the Philippines is still the only person rescued so far, a coastguard official said, adding the bodies of some cattle had been recovered.
“When it was capsizing, an onboard announcement instructed us to wear a life jacket,” the rescued crew member, Sareno Edvardo, of the Philippines, later told the Japanese Coast Guard. “So I wore a life jacket and jumped into the sea.”
The crew of 43 was made up of 39 people from the Philippines, two from New Zealand, and two from Australia, the coastguard said.
The coastguard quoted Edvarodo as saying the ship lost an engine before it was hit by a wave and capsized.
Rescue efforts continued as Typhoon Maysak lashed parts of South Korea, north of where Mr. Edvardo was found, with heavy rain and gusts of up to 90 miles per hour, leaving hundreds of thousands of homes without power.
Typhoon Maysak later weakened to a tropical storm as it moved toward North Korea. But even if that made rescuers’ jobs easier, it seems increasingly unlikely that there would be more survivors.
Millions of cattle and sheep are shipped every year, generating hefty profits for meat producers in countries like Australia and New Zealand. But animal rights advocates say that such journeys are often too long, regulations are not up to scratch and the rules are easily flouted.
Activists say the vessels are usually converted cargo ships that do not meet animal welfare standards, and that the livestock face heat stress, overcrowding and the spread of disease during the journeys.
“This is a high-risk trade that puts the lives of animals at risk which is why the export of live animals must be banned,” Marianne Macdonald, the campaigns manager for SAFE, a New Zealand-based animal welfare group, said in a statement
Last year, a cargo ship overturned in the Black Sea near Romania while on its way to Saudi Arabia. The ship’s 21 crew members were rescued, but most of the nearly 15,000 sheep trapped on board were not.
