Livestock ship with 42 crew reported to have sunk off Japan

Ship carrying almost 6,000 cattle capsizes in rough weather due to Typhoon Maysak

Coast guards rescuing a Filipino man off Amami Oshima island during a search for a cargo ship with 43 people on board. Photograph: 10th Regional Coast Guard/AFP/Getty Images.
Coast guards rescuing a Filipino man off Amami Oshima island during a search for a cargo ship with 43 people on board. Photograph: 10th Regional Coast Guard/AFP/Getty Images.

Rescue crews are searching for a livestock ship with 42 crew that is reported to have sunk off the coast of Japan.

A survivor from the ship told the Japanese coastguard the Gulf Livestock 1 fell victim to rough weather.

The man, who is in good health, was spotted by navy P-3C surveillance aircraft wearing a life vest and waving while bobbing in the water.

He told rescuers the ship capsized before sinking, said spokesman Yuichiro Higashi at the Japanese coast guard's regional headquarters conducting the search.

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The 11,947-ton ship was carrying 5,800 cattle off the western coast of Amami Oshima in the East China Sea when it sent a distress call early on Wednesday.

The cause of the distress was not immediately known, but the weather was rough in the area due to Typhoon Maysak.

The typhoon has since passed the area and the weather during the ongoing search is fine, Mr Higashi said.

The ship's other crew include 38 from the Philippines, two from New Zealand and another two from Australia.

The ship, owned by Gulf Navigation Holding based in the United Arab Emirates, left the port of Napier in northeastern New Zealand in mid-August and was on its way to the port of Tangshan on China's eastern coast.

–PA