News / Cargo vessels sink as Typhoon Gaemi sweeps across Taiwan

General cargo vessel Fu Shun has sunk as Tyhpoon Gaemi causes devastation across Taiwan, with many other ships also affected.  

The storm has brought flooding, high winds and treacherous waves to Taiwan as it blew through the northern part of the island today, having already killed 25 in the Philippines.  

The Central Emergency Operation Center (CEOC) reported that the Fu Shun began listing about 19 nautical miles off Kaohsiung around 5.45am and sank about an hour later. 

A distress call was sent at 6.30am. Nine Myanmar crew members fell overboard.  

Two were rescued today after they were found by locals on the coast, and another was found near Fengbitou in Kaohsiung’s seagoing district, according to Tawain News. Six crew members are still missing.  

Taiwan News reported: “Rough seas and high winds hampered search and rescue efforts. Authorities said they would monitor weather conditions and deploy rescue teams as soon as possible.” 

According to VesselFinder, the Tanzania-flagged freighter measures 56 metres and weighs 599 gross tonnes.  

Further, The Guardian reported that an oil tanker, MT Terra Nova, had also capsized, about 7km off the coast of Limay municipality in Bataan province, in the early hours.

The vessel was carrying 1.4m litres of oil and Philippines authorities are reportedly trying to contain a threatened spill that has the potential to be the biggest in Philippines history.  

The Ministry of Transportation and Communication reported that five other ships had run aground around Taiwan’s coast, but the crews are safe. 

They include Indonesia-flagged cement carrier Iriana, Mongolia-flagged general cargo ship Basia, Tanzania-flagged general cargo ship Xin Li, Cameroon-flagged Gian and Portugal-flagged Sofia. 

Typhoon Gaemi is now headed to mainland China.  

The Independent reported: “The storm has weakened after landfall in Taiwan but is still packing maximum sustained winds of 140kph near the centre and gusts up to 215kph, equivalent to a category 3 hurricane.”