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Shipwreck captain given ultimatum
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ONE crewman is still missing following a shipwreck on Wednesday night in Dapeng Bay, just one week after another ship collision nearby which left five people dead.
A 13-metre wooden fishing boat with a crew of three was struck by the container carrier Huihang 88 at around 9.50pm on Wednesday night on waters southwest of Sanmen Island, Dapeng Bay, and immediately capsized. The collision occurred only 10 nautical miles from the April 18 shipwreck site.
Two fishermen were rescued by the crew of the Huihang. Shenzhen Customs and border inspection police rushed vessels to the site to search for the missing fisherman upon receiving a distress call, and were later joined by rescue ships from the Municipal Maritime Affairs Bureau, but an intensive search has turned up nothing.
In light of the two collisions, maritime authorities have issued a warning to vessels urging care when sailing through the area.
The container carrier, heading to Huizhou Port from Hong Kong, had just finished customs procedures at Sanmen Island shortly before it collided with the boat.
The two survivors said the missing fisherman was at the helm at the time it was struck by the much larger vessel.(Richard Lin)
Captain hunted
Li Ying and Dong Haitao
SHENZHEN maritime officials have issued a public ultimatum to the captain of the hit-and-run ship Tongning 3 at the centre of the April 18 shipwreck in Dapeng Bay, ordering him to surrender or face police investigation.
Officials from the Shenzhen Municipal Maritime Affairs Bureau have detained the hit-and-run ship Tongning 3 in Bacao Township of Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province, in connection to the shipwreck off Dapeng Bay in Shenzhen on April 18.
At present, eight of the nine Tongning sailors have turned themselves in and answered questions in their hometowns, but the ship's captain, Lin Zaifang, is still at large.
Lin reportedly contacted his superior several times following the collision and inquired about what punishment he may be facing. His superior tried to persuade him to surrender, but Lin refused.
Investigation has revealed that some of the sailors serving aboard the Tongning 3 are totally illiterate. Shenzhen maritime officials wondered how these illiterates could pass the exams required to earn their sailing certificates.
Suspicions were reinforced when officials found none of the names registered in the sailing certificates held by the nine crewmen corresponds with their real names.
Two survivors from the sunken ship Sitong 888 told local authorities that in order to stimulate the maximum possible rescue effort, they lied to officials in claiming that 11 of their shipmates were missing instead of five.
Meanwhile, the bodies of five missing sailors from the Sitong 888 have been found in Shenzhen and Hong Kong waters, according to a report in the Guangzhou Daily.
Nanjing-based Kaihua Shipping Co Ltd, which owned the sunken ship, has sued the owner of Tongning 3 in Guangzhou Maritime Court, asking for a total compensation of 4.3 million yuan (US$516,000).
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