A cargo ship barred from sailing sank off the coast of Liberia, at least seven people feared missing, reports USNews.
What happened?
According to the Liberian Maritime Commissioner, at least seven people are missing after a cargo ship that had been barred from sailing sank off the coast of Liberia.
Vessel under detention order
The Liberian-registered vessel left the capital Monrovia on Saturday morning for a port in the country’s south, despite being under a Liberia Maritime Authority detention order for failing to meet basic safety requirements.
Distress signal
The vessel sent out a distress signal that afternoon notifying the coast guard that it had taken on water, Maritime Commissioner Eugene Nagbe told a news conference. By the time authorities arrived, it had already partially sunk.
Vessel owner arrested
The vessel’s owner, a Chinese national, was arrested on Sunday afternoon and is now in police custody, Nagbe told Reuters.
Rescue efforts and investigation
“We are commissioning an investigation into how a vessel that was detained for failure to meet rudimentary safety requirements managed to get on the sea with passengers and cargo,” Nagbe said.
“But that investigation is subsidiary to the ongoing search and rescue effort,” he added.
Scoped nearby shores
The search continued on Sunday afternoon as teams from Liberia’s coast guard scoped nearby shores and riverbanks in collaboration with a ship from anti-whaling organization Sea Shepherd, Nagbe said.
The precise number of missing passengers remains unknown, Deputy Information Minister Jarlaywah Tonpoe told Reuters.
Manifest shows 18 onboard
The ship’s manifest showed 18 people on board at the time of departure but authorities suspect that more could have been on board, given that the vessel was not licensed to carry passengers in the first place, Tonpoe said.
Investigation
“The vessel was not a passenger-authorized vessel and yet it had passengers on board,” Tonpoe said. “So in the coming days, investigation will establish how many people were on board.”
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Source: USNews
