A ship operated by SITC Container Lines collided with a Chinese fishing trawler off Hainan Island, China just after midnight local time on 3 April, leaving eight persons missing after the trawler capsized.
The Panama-flagged ship, 1,032 TEU SITC Danang had just departed China’s Qinzhou port and was on its way to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, when the accident happened around 12.15 am local time.
The collision with the fishing trawler, Yuenan Aoyu 36062, occurred 22 nautical miles south-west of Yinggehai town in Ledong, off Hainan’s southwestern coast.
The Chinese Navy and Coast Guard mobilized 21 ships and five aircrafts to undertake water and air searches at the scene. Three professional divers have also joined the rescue mission. At the time of writing, none of the missing persons has been found.
As the cause of the accident is being investigated, SITC Danang has been anchored in Sanya, Hainan.
SITC’s representative told the media that the ship is owned by Japanese tonnage provider Shoei Kisen Kaisha, and technical management is handled by a third-party company, whose staff have gone to Hainan to make the necessary arrangements.