Listing General Cargo Ship Abandoned Off Taiwan, Captain Missing

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The Captain of a Hong Kong-flagged general cargo ship loaded with logs went missing on Saturday after his vessel began to list dangerously and lost power in high winds and heavy seas off the northern coast of Taiwan.

According to local media reports, the 7,716 DWT cargo ship, New Lucky III, was cruising some 35 nautical miles off the coast of Bali when it was battered by huge waves, causing the vessel to list and forcing the crew to send out a distress signal at about 12:50 p.m. local time.

A search and rescued operation by Taiwan’s National Search and Rescue Command Center led to the rescue of 16 crew members, but the Filipino Captain is said to have been swept overboard during the operation and is still missing.

The rescued crew includes 3 Chinese, 3 Filipinos and 10 Indonesians, who are currently being kept in Keelung, Taiwan.

The New Lucky III is believed to still be adrift and posing a threat to navigation. Initial reports indicate that the vessel began listing after the logs shifted with the rolling of the ship.

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