Filipino crew member of missing vessel rescued by Japanese coast guard
By Roy Mabasa
A Filipino crewmember of a missing Panamanian-registered freighter was rescued by the Japanese Coast Guard off the waters of Amami Oshima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture, the Department of Foreign Affairs said on Thursday.
The rescued Filipino is among the 43-crew members onboard MV Livestock 1, which was on its way to China from New Zealand when it went missing shortly after sending a distressed call on Wednesday, September 2.
Thirty-nine of the ship’s 43 crew members are Filipinos, according to a report.
The DFA said the Japanese Coast Guard has deployed patrol boats and airplanes to search for the missing vessel.
“So far, one Filipino was reported to have been rescued by the Japanese Coast Guard,” the foreign affairs office said, citing reports from the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo and the Consulate General in Osaka which has jurisdiction over Kagoshima Prefecture.
It added the Philippine posts are monitoring the situation as the Japanese Coast Guard launches a second search and rescue mission ahead of an incoming typhoon.
The DFA’s Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers' Affairs (OUMWA) and the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Osaka are in close coordination with Korpil Ship Management and Manning Corp., the local manning agency, in ascertaining the status of the Filipino seafarers.