One crewmember missing as cargo ship sinks in East China Sea

A Donghai Rescue Bureau SAR boat (Photo: MarineTraffic.com)

One person has been reported missing from a cargo ship that ran aground and eventually sank in the East China Sea off Zhejiang province on the morning (local time) of Saturday, May 30.

The Chinese-registered Lian Hang 7 was sailing from Fujian to Zhoushan when it struck a shallow area some 10 nautical miles east of Ningbo on Saturday.

The grounding caused a hull breach, which then resulted in water ingress that the crew could not control.

The cargo ship gradually slipped beneath the waves with only its wheelhouse still visible above the surface by the time a search and rescue (SAR) boat from the Donghai Rescue Bureau arrived at the scene.

The operation to rescue all 14 crew of Lian Hang 7 lasted approximately three hours due to the rough sea conditions in the area. All but one of the crew were eventually rescued as no trace of the cargo ship’s fourteenth occupant had been found.

Local authorities are continuing to comb the area where the sinking occurred in an effort to locate the missing sailor.


Baird Maritime

The best maritime site on the web. The sea's our scene!