Japanese shipping company Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line) has confirmed that authorities have called off the search for four people who went missing after a cargo ship capsized and sank in the South China Sea late last month.
In a statement, K Line thanked the Philippine and China Coast Guards for their efforts in rescuing the 15 survivors among the 21-strong crew of the bulk carrier Devon Bay and in attempting to locate the missing individuals who were also on the ill-fated ship.
The company also expressed its condolences to the families of the two crewmembers who perished as a result of the incident.
The Singapore-registered, K Line-operated Devon Bay was carrying a cargo of ore to Yangjiang in China when she capsized and sank 55 nautical miles northwest of Scarborough Shoal on the morning (local time) of January 23, 2026.
Vessels of the China Coast Guard were the first to arrive on-scene, and their crews were able to pull 15 survivors and the bodies of two deceased crewmembers out of the water.
The Philippine Coast Guard said that the capsizing may have been caused by the liquefaction and subsequent shifting of the ship's ore cargo while in transit.
The night before the incident, the crew had sent out a distress call informing the Philippine Coast Guard that the ship had developed a 25-degree list while approximately 141 nautical miles off the coast of Pangasinan province north of Manila.
