Tanker capsizing leaves eight dead off southwestern Japan

Eight people are confirmed dead while another two have gone missing after a commercial tanker capsized in rough seas off southwestern Japan on Wednesday, March 20.

The South Korean-flagged chemical tanker Keoyoung Sun was at anchor near Mutsure Island just off the main island of Honshu when its crew sent out a distress call at around 07:00 local time on Wednesday saying that the ship had begun to tilt due to the worsening weather.

The vessel had already overturned with only its keel remaining above the surface of the water by the time search and rescue personnel from the Japan Coast Guard arrived in the area.

Keoyoung Sun‘s crew at the time of the incident consisted of one Chinese, two South Koreans including the captain, and eight Indonesian nationals. Of these, eight were found dead while a ninth crewmember, an Indonesian national, was pulled out of the sea with non-life-threatening injuries.

The operation to locate the two missing crewmembers is still ongoing even as the waters near Mutsure are experiencing wind speeds of up to 29 knots.

No pollution has been detected from the capsized tanker. However, local officials have begun studying possible measures to contain any leak of fuel oil or the vessel’s cargo of 980 tonnes of corrosive acrylic acid.