International effort saves sailors after sinking off of Jeju Island

The Korea Coast Guard is in search of the missing crew members of a Hong Kong-registered cargo ship that submerged in the international waters off the southern island of Jeju on Wednesday. [NEWS1]

A cargo ship with a crew of 22 sank in waters off of Jeju Island on Wednesday, with some of the sailors being pulled from the chilly waters in an international effort bringing together civilian and government resources.

The Hong Kong-flagged Jin Tian, a 6,551-ton general cargo ship, sent out beacon signal at 3:07 a.m. indicating that it was sinking 148.2 kilometers (92 miles) southeast of the city of Seogwipo on Jeju Island. The ship, in international waters, was completely submerged when the Korea Coast Guard arrived.

A total of 14 people were rescued as of 2 p.m., nine of them unconscious, according to the Jeju Regional Headquarters of the Korea Coast Guard. Six were rescued by the Korean Coast Guard, three by the Japanese military and five by passing ships.

The ship was crewed by 14 Chinese and eight Myanmar sailors.

“The incident took place in international waters southeast of Jeju Island," said a spokesperson from the Coast Guard on Jeju. "The authority in charge of the area is the Japan Coast Guard, but the Korea Coast Guard is also cooperating and supporting as much as possible.”

According to the Coast Guard, the ship sent its first distress signal at around 1:45 a.m. Wednesday. The captain made a satellite phone call with the Coast Guard at around 2:41 a.m. saying they would abandon the ship and that all crew members will get off.

The last emergency distress signal was sent at 3:07 a.m. the same day via the emergency position indicating radio beacon (Epirb). The Epirb automatically transmits a distress signal after a vessel submerges.

The search for the other crew members is ongoing with cargo ships sailing nearby and jets and patrols boats from the Japan Coast Guard participating in the search.

The rescued crew will be sent to Japan via planes by the Japan Coast Guard and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Forces.

Wind and wave advisories were issued near the incident site as of 7 a.m. Wednesday with winds blowing at 16 meters per second (36 miles per hour) and the water temperature being 18.5 degrees Celsius (65.3 degrees Fahrenheit). The advisories were lifted as of 11 a.m. the same day, but strong winds and waves continued in the area.

According to the Korean Coast Guard, some crew members of another cargo ship were rescued in waters off Jeju Island a day earlier after its engine room was reported to have flooded around 7:45 p.m. on Tuesday.

All eight crew members were rescued from a Korea-registered cargo ship sailing in waters 0.5 kilometers north of the Seongsan Port on Jeju Island Tuesday.

All members on board the 2,881-ton cargo ship were rescued by the Coast Guard about two hours later and did not sustain any major injuries.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO, CHOI CHOONG-IL [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]