A Tanzanian-flagged general cargo ship Fu Shun capsized and sank in stormy weather off Taiwan with its nine crewmembers missing.
The 1985-built 56-m-long vessel went down around 19 nautical miles off the coast of Kaohsiung City early morning, after Typhoon Gaemi swept across the island overnight.
Local authorities said the nine crew from Myanmar had abandoned the ship in life jackets and that the search operation would be carried out as soon as weather conditions improved .
The strongest typhoon to hit Taiwan in eight years killed at least three people, with over 200 more injured. The storm has also caused flooding and landslides in the Philippines that killed six and a tanker, TerraNova, carrying 1.4m litres of industrial fuel oil, to sink off Manila with authorities racing to contain a spill.
Taiwan’s National Coast Guard Administration said at least three more ships had run aground, including the Indonesian 10,300 dwt bulker Iriana. No injuries or pollution have been reported in relation to these incidents.