The Japanese Coast Guard reported receiving a single distress call from the Panamanian flagged livestock carrier, Gulf Livestock 1, with a crew of 43 aboard. The vessel’s last known position in the East China Sea was near Typhoon Maysak, a Category 3 storm, with winds of 115 mph. When the Japanese authorities searched for the ship, they found one surviving seafarer wearing a life jacket and an empty inflatable life raft.
The mariner, Eduardo Sareno, the vessel’s 45-year-old chief officer, said the ship’s engine failed before it capsized after being hit by a wave. Sareno also said that the crew had been instructed to put on lifejackets and that he jumped into the water. He said he did not see any other crew members before he was rescued. Sareno was reported to have been in the water for almost 24 hours before he was located by the Japanese Coast Guard.
The Gulf Livestock 1 had departed Napier, New Zealand on August 14 bound for Tangshan, China. She was reported to be sailing at a speed of 8 knots due to arrive in China on September 4. She carried a crew of two Australians, two New Zealanders, and 39 Filipinos, as well as a cargo of 5,800 cattle.
The 440-foot long 8,372 DWT ship was operated by Gulf Navigation Holding, headquartered in Dubai, UAE.
Thanks to Alaric Bond for contributing to this post.
5842 lives lost.
A ship that size only had 1-engine?
Almost 6000 cows lost.
I eat lots of beef!
New Zealand news:
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12362111
Somewhat suspicious that only one person survived. A crew of 42 and they were ordered to put on life jackets. It is almost as if this person jumped ship before it went down. I hope that I am wrong on this.
Every sole survivor of a disaster is under suspicion? Does that pencil out?
A conspiracy theory like that would only be believable if it was the chief engineer who survived after loss of engine.
Also you do not sink your vessel in a storm where it is a miracle if you survive.
it was the chief officer who survived and not the chief engineer guys
If a ship sinks on an even keel, the crew may have time to make it to the boats. When a ship capsizes as apparently happened in this case, there is no time to escape. The person with the best chance of getting off the ship would be the deck officer on the bridge. So, it is not unreasonable that the chief officer was the sole survivor.