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Japanese Coast Guard Saves 64 Chinese Seamen from Blazing Freighter

Published Oct 23, 2012 4:14 PM by The Maritime Executive

Japan’s Coast Guard saved 64 Chinese seamen from their burning cargo ship, on Sunday. All awhile, the two nations remain in an acrimonious argument over small islands.

The coast guard was signaled by Taiwan authorities on Saturday about a fire on the Ming Yang and sent patrol ships and aircrafts to the scene about 95 miles southeast of Okinawa.

All of the Chinese seamen were rescued early Sunday morning, with three of them suffering from some minor injuries.

The ship’s chief engineer had reported hearing sounds similar to an explosion from the main engine Saturday evening.

The Japanese coast guard has been kept busy patrolling the waters around disputed islands, known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, to the west of the burning freighter.

The coast guard stated that four Chinese official vessels were in adjoining waters around the islands on Sunday. The vessels have been spotted in waters off the islands as the situation escalated over the last couple of months.

Tensions between the to nations peaked in September after Japan’s government bought a number of the disputed islands from private investors.