TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A Taiwanese fishing boat with 11 crew members on board was reported missing on Friday.
The Shenglongyu No. 61, registered in Donggang, Pingtung, was in waters east of Guam earlier this week before contact with the vessel was lost. The ship’s crew is comprised of a Taiwanese captain and 11 Indonesian fishermen, reported UDN.
The Fisheries Agency has informed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Rescue Command Center to coordinate search efforts. Vessels operating nearby are also being contacted to assist in searching for the missing boat.
The agency’s 24-hour monitoring center received an abnormal last signal from the Shenglongyu’s GPS transmitter on Thursday afternoon. After enquiring with the company that operates the ship, they confirmed that communication with had been lost.
The Shenglongyu departed Taiwan on July 11 from Pingtung’s Yanpu Fishing Harbor. The GPS transmitter stopped sending regular signals at 1 p.m. on Thursday, when the vessel was approximately 740 nautical miles (1,370 km) east of Guam, according to a press release.
On Friday at 10 a.m. a distress signal was sent from the vessel approximately 100 km from its previous location on Thursday. The Fisheries Agency said the government will coordinate with search and rescue crews from Guam and Japan and ask private vessels in the region to help locate the ship and missing crew members.
