Ship carrying 38 Filipino seafarers, 4 others still missing

It also confirmed that one of the 39 Filipino crew members onboard the ship have been rescued. (File Photo By Patrick Roque, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)

MANILA – The missing freighter carrying over 40 crew has yet to be found, with the Japanese Coast Guard launching a second search and rescue mission, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Thursday.

It also confirmed that one of the 39 Filipino crew members onboard the ship have been rescued.

“The Consulate General in Osaka is monitoring the situation and coordinating with the Japanese Coast Guard, which is launching a second search and rescue mission prior to the expected incoming typhoon,” it said in a statement sent to reporters.

The Panamanian-flagged vessel carrying a total of 43 crew members made a distress call on Sept. 2 from Amami-Oshima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture as Typhoon Maysak bore down on the region.

The Japanese Coast Guard, after receiving the call for help, immediately deployed patrol boats and airplanes to conduct the search for the missing vessel, which is still ongoing.

The DFA Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs and the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Osaka are in close coordination with Korpil Ship Management and Manning Corp., the local manning agency, in monitoring the condition of the Filipino seafarers.