Fishing Boat Vanishes Near Falkland Islands

A Taiwanese fishing boat with 49 people on board has disappeared in the remote South Atlantic Ocean.

Although the ship reported taking on water, back on February 26, no Mayday call has been received. 

The 28-year-old Hsiang Fu Chun, a 700-ton squid fishing vessel, had a Taiwanese master and 11 Chinese, 21 Indonesian and two Vietnamese seamen on board. It was sailing about 3,100km off the Falkland Islands when it vanished.

Falkland Island officials said the vessel lost contact with its owners soon after reporting that it was taking on water. Taiwan has launched a search effort and is appealing for assistance from Argentina and Britain as well as other ships in the area.

Huang Hong-yen, a spokesman for Taiwan’s Fisheries Agency, said there was no evidence that the boat had sunk. The ship was equipped with a system that automatically issued a Mayday signal when placed under a certain water pressure, but no such signal was sent, he said.

Due to the remoteness of the location it will take six days for a boat and 11 hours for a plane to fly to the area and back again in good weather.

Some Taiwanese media have speculated that the vessel could have lost power and be adrift, or it could have been hijacked by the crew.

The South Atlantic Ocean is a traditional fishing ground for Taiwan and attracts around 100 Taiwanese squid boats each year.