TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – A Taiwanese fishing boat with 11 crew members on board that lost contact with the outside world after it was hit by lightning near Guam has contacted the authorities and is safe, reports said Saturday.
The Shenglongyu No. 61, registered in Donggang, Pingtung, was reported missing Thursday. The captain is from Taiwan, but the other 10 crew members are Indonesian fishers.
The captain, named Tien (田), called the shipping company Saturday afternoon to report that lightning had knocked out the trawler’s equipment and disabled its communication system, per CNA. While they gauged how to return to Taiwan, they had encountered a Japanese fishing trawler, whose crew had allowed the captain to use their satellite phone.
The ship’s propulsion system was still working, he said, but the refrigerating system was down, leaving the crew unable to keep fishing. Tien said the most important thing was that all crew members were safe.
The crew is trying to find a solution to the ship’s equipment problems while planning its voyage to Taiwan.
