Nasco Diamond
On Thursday morning, Nasco Diamond loaded with 55,000 tonnes of nickel ore from Indonesia to China was reported missing and believed to have sunk off the southern coast of Japan. Five of the twenty five crew have been accounted for, with at least one fatality. Empty rafts and oil slicks were seen near where the crew members were rescued. Japanese and Taiwanese Coast Guards continue to search for the remaining missing twenty crew.
Rescue launched for Chinese crew off southern Japan
Today the International Association of Dry Cargo Shipowners, Intercargo, issued a statement about the risks of transporting nickel ore. If the moisture content in the ore is too high, the water in the ore can separate during the voyage, creating a free surface effect which can destabilize a ship and potentially lead to capsizing.
The undoubted courage of that JCG crewman assisting the Chinese seafarer in the water from an overside ladder is without question. It is enormously difficult to get someone out of the water by that method, as the video shows. On this I speak from personel experience. Clearly JCG needs a “Rescue Swimmer Programme” such as the USCG has. The capability as well as the personal courage of those same USCG Rescue Swimmers is greatly admired by seafarers.
Good Watch.
I read somewhere that the weather was calm when the bulk carrier was lost. Sea conditions in the video are certainly not calm. Both the rescued and rescuer are lucky to be alive.
The last scene with the helicopter seems to be preparing to airlift the injured to shore, but I wonder why they are apparently trying to do this from the foredek of the JCG ship rather than aft where motions are usually more favorable.
Agreed it was all pretty sad to watch. It would seem that JCG need to review and retrain their rescue procedures. They seem keen on agressive law enforcement but short on assistance skills. Perhaps a Instructor Team from the USCG could help bring them up to speed as a real Coast Guard.
Good Watch.
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I was onboard the vessel which first came across the empty liferafts, the weather was F6-7 but nothing that should cause any concern to a ship of her size and age, what was disturbing was that at the time she went missing no distress message was received and there were no relay messages from coast stations like there would be if an EPIRB had been activated?
What I must say though was that the JCG did an excellent job to find the survivors so soon after the liferafts had been located, they were 24nm NE of the rafts.
the free fall lifeboat is located in batanes phillipnes with no passenger in it. nasco diamond with panamanian registry