NYK vessel pulls 27 men from life rafts as their fishing boat burns

THE South Islander, a multi-purpose ship owned by NYK-Hinode Line, a subsidiary of Japanese shipping line NYK, has rescued 27 fishermen - 10 Japanese, eight Indonesians and nine Kiribatians (Kiribati, a south sea island republic - pop 98,000) - from a fishing vessel that was ablaze 870 kilometres east of Guam, following a fire in its engine room.


The South Islander and its crew of 20 Filipinos rushed to the scene after receiving an assistance request from the US Coast Guard. Eight hours later, having travelled 220 kilometres, they found the abandoned fishermen in life rafts a safe distance from the burning Daiichi Shoei Maru.


All 27 fishermen were reported to be in good health and taken aboard the South Islander, which continued to Honiara, Solomon Islands from Yokohama.
(Source:http://www.schednet.com)