Ship Accidents Japan

A Liberian-registered chemical tanker exploded and burst into flames off Japan, and 23 crew members were reported missing, the Maritime Safety Agency said. The Maasgusar, carrying 25,700 tons of methanol and other flammable liquids, "is still burning and explosions are ripping through its body," according to an agency spokesman. The cause of the explosions was undetermined.

A South Korean container ship and a Honduran freighter collided off the eastern coast of Japan in foggy weather, an official said. The Honduran Acarreo 3, carrying 5,000 tons of magnesium ore, ran aground after making contact with the Bonny Star, Coast Guard official Kazuhiro Nishikawa said. He said no one was hurt and no fuel spilled from either vessel after the mishap about 7 miles off Kujukuri in Chiba prefecture, east of Tokyo.

The Panamanian-registered freighter Selina sank off southern Japan on Monday, but U.S. Navy and Japanese Marine Safety Agency teams rescued all 20 crew members, an agency official said. The 4,827-ton ship began taking on water and sank 370 miles off Ishigaki Island, Okinawa prefecture.

The sinking of the Japanese training vessel Ehime Maru by the U.S. nuclear submarine Greeneville has highlighted differences in how the two nations manage similar crises. A look back at another accident involving a military submarine and a fishing vessel--this one in Tokyo Bay nearly 13 years ago--provides insight into Japanese expectations and how the Asian nation might have handled this year's accident off Hawaii had both parties been Japanese.

A 53-ton Japanese fishing boat sank after colliding with a Maltese freighter Saturday northeast of Tokyo, and one fisherman was missing, a maritime official said.

The chief of Japan's military resigned to take responsibility for the deaths of 30 civilians killed when a submarine collided with a sport fishing vessel last month. "I presented Prime Minister (Noboru) Takeshita with a notice of resignation today, just now," Tsutomu Kawara said at a news conference. Kawara was the first Defense Agency director general in 17 years to relinquish his post in a controversy linked to the armed forces. Takeshita appointed Kichiro Tazawa, 70, to replace Kawara.

All 23 crew members aboard a leaking Liberian-flag freighter were plucked to safety Thursday after their vessel began sinking during rough weather, an official at Japan's Maritime Safety Agency said. An air force helicopter flew the 12 Filipino, four Chinese and five Hong Kong men and one Burmese to the western Japanese city of Kyoto from the 7,027-ton Maritime Gardenia.

Twenty-six sailors were reported missing after a Cyprus-registered cargo ship collided with another vessel near the Japanese island of Tsushima and then sank, news reports said. The other ship, a cargo vessel registered in Greece, safely entered the South Korean port of Pusan, Japanese radio reported. There were no injuries among the 21 crew members of the Greek ship. Most of the missing sailors were from the Philippines, the reports said.

An oil spill affecting hundreds of miles of scenic Japanese shoreline drifted toward seaside nuclear power plants Friday, threatening to clog vital cooling systems. Coast guard and fishing ships rushed to set up a boom around parts of the spill near the entrance to Wakasa Bay to keep the oil from the power plants ringing the bay. Officials of Kansai Electric Power Co.

Three crew members on a U.S. Navy submarine fell overboard when a wave swept over the vessel as it conducted surface operations off Japan's southwestern island of Kyushu, and two are still missing, U.S. military officials said in Tokyo. One of those who fell from the 2,145-ton vessel was picked up by the Barbel itself after a search aircraft spotted him, the officials said. His identity and condition were withheld. The identity of those missing was also withheld. A spokesman for Japan's Maritime Safety Agency said three Japanese aircraft and four vessels, including three Japanese patrol boats, have joined the hunt for the two missing men. According to Jane's Fighting Ships, the Barbel is a diesel-powered submarine commissioned in 1959 that normally carries a crew of 85.

An oil spill affecting hundreds of miles of scenic Japanese shoreline drifted toward seaside nuclear power plants Friday, threatening to clog vital cooling systems. Coast guard and fishing ships rushed to set up a boom around parts of the spill near the entrance to Wakasa Bay to keep the oil from the power plants ringing the bay. Officials of Kansai Electric Power Co.

The battle against one of Japan's worst oil spills grew more difficult as massive new slicks whipped by heavy winds quadrupled the coastline affected. Strong winds, high waves and poor visibility along much of the rugged coastline continued to hamper cleanup efforts. So far, the western prefectures of Hyogo, Kyoto, Fukui and Ishikawa have been affected by the 962,000-gallon leak caused by the breakup of a Russian tanker carrying fuel oil.

Two small U.S. Navy vessels sank off the island of Okinawa in separate incidents in a fresh embarrassment for the U.S. military in Japan. The accidents involving the two light amphibious craft, in which all 21 crew members were rescued unharmed, are likely to fuel Okinawan anxiety about possible accidents involving the huge U.S. military machine on the island. Okinawa houses 75% of all U.S. military facilities in Japan.

Twenty-six sailors were reported missing after a Cyprus-registered cargo ship collided with another vessel near the Japanese island of Tsushima and then sank, news reports said. The other ship, a cargo vessel registered in Greece, safely entered the South Korean port of Pusan, Japanese radio reported. There were no injuries among the 21 crew members of the Greek ship. Most of the missing sailors were from the Philippines, the reports said.

A Panamanian tanker struck and sank a Japanese freighter Sunday off the coast of Japan, killing one seaman and leaving another missing, Japanese officials said.

All 23 crew members aboard a leaking Liberian-flag freighter were plucked to safety Thursday after their vessel began sinking during rough weather, an official at Japan's Maritime Safety Agency said. An air force helicopter flew the 12 Filipino, four Chinese and five Hong Kong men and one Burmese to the western Japanese city of Kyoto from the 7,027-ton Maritime Gardenia.

Two small U.S. Navy vessels sank off the island of Okinawa in separate incidents in a fresh embarrassment for the U.S. military in Japan. The accidents involving the two light amphibious craft, in which all 21 crew members were rescued unharmed, are likely to fuel Okinawan anxiety about possible accidents involving the huge U.S. military machine on the island. Okinawa houses 75% of all U.S. military facilities in Japan.

The battle against one of Japan's worst oil spills grew more difficult as massive new slicks whipped by heavy winds quadrupled the coastline affected. Strong winds, high waves and poor visibility along much of the rugged coastline continued to hamper cleanup efforts. So far, the western prefectures of Hyogo, Kyoto, Fukui and Ishikawa have been affected by the 962,000-gallon leak caused by the breakup of a Russian tanker carrying fuel oil.

Three crew members on a U.S. Navy submarine fell overboard when a wave swept over the vessel as it conducted surface operations off Japan's southwestern island of Kyushu, and two are still missing, U.S. military officials said in Tokyo. One of those who fell from the 2,145-ton vessel was picked up by the Barbel itself after a search aircraft spotted him, the officials said. His identity and condition were withheld. The identity of those missing was also withheld. A spokesman for Japan's Maritime Safety Agency said three Japanese aircraft and four vessels, including three Japanese patrol boats, have joined the hunt for the two missing men. According to Jane's Fighting Ships, the Barbel is a diesel-powered submarine commissioned in 1959 that normally carries a crew of 85.

A Liberian-registered chemical tanker exploded and burst into flames off Japan, and 23 crew members were reported missing, the Maritime Safety Agency said. The Maasgusar, carrying 25,700 tons of methanol and other flammable liquids, "is still burning and explosions are ripping through its body," according to an agency spokesman. The cause of the explosions was undetermined.