International Response Rescues 27 Crew from Burning Japanese Ship

Apra Harbor, GUAM - U.S. and Japan Coast Guard rescue crews coordinated the rescue of 27 fishermen after a severe shipboard fire forced them to abandon ship 540 miles east of Guam, Sunday.

Japan Coast Guard received notification from the owners of the fishing vessel Daichi Shoei Maru reporting that their vessel was on fire and the crew was contemplating abandoning ship.

A request from the Japan Coast Guard was relayed to Coast Guard rescue coordinators at Sector Guam for assistance as the vessel in distress was within their area of response. The Coast Guard Cutter Washington, a 110-foot patrol boat homeported in Guam, and a Coast Guard C-130 Hercules airplane from Air Station Barbers Point Hawaii were launched to render assistance. Japan Coast Guard also launched an aircraft to search for the vessel.

Coast Guard rescue coordinators located a merchant vessel about 115 miles from the Daiichi Shoei Maru and radioed a request to assist. The master of the 527-foot Panamanian flagged cargo ship South Islander responded to the distress call and diverted.

"Fortunately, the Daichi Shoei Maru was equipped with an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon that allowed Coast Guard Sector Guam to continually monitor the position of the distressed vessel," said Leif Wigman-Nilsson, Coast Guard Sector Guam search and rescue controller.

Using the position provided by the EPIRB, the Japan Coast Guard aircrew was able to locate the burning vessel and contact the crew who were still aboard.

At 7:45 p.m. Daichi Shoei Maru's crew abandoned ship into life rafts moments before the vessel suffered several explosions which left Daichi Shoei Maru severely burning. The crew was at a safe distance from the burning vessel when the South Islander arrived at 8:10 p.m.

All 27 personnel were safely transferred to the South Islander without incident or injury. Crewmembers are being taken to the South Islander's next Port of Call in the Solomon Islands. 

More information on EPIRBs can be found at the following link. http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/?pageName=mtEpirb

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SOURCE: 14th Coast Guard District public affairs office