A search operation launched after a South Korean cargo vessel containing 260,000 tonnes of iron ore went missing over the weekend in the South Atlantic, continued Monday, with 22 out of the 24 crew members still unaccounted for.
The large vessel, which set out from a port in Brazil to China carrying thousands of tonnes of iron ore, last made contact on Friday.
The Stellar Daisy, which set out from a port in Brazil to China, last made contact on Friday, and its believed to have sunk when it was 2,500km (1,500 miles) from shore, east of Uruguay.
Two Filipino crew members were found floating in a life raft on Saturday, but other lifeboats and rafts spotted in the area were empty, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reports.
The large bulk carrier, which is roughly the same size as 100 tennis courts, was set to sail past Uruguay and Argentina, around Cape Horn and then across the Pacific. It was being operated by a South Korean company, Polaris, but was flagged to the Marshall Islands, and had 16 Filipinos and eight South Koreans on board.
Brazilian and Uruguayan navy ships and aircraft are searching the area and ships passing by are also being asked to keep an eye out for survivors.
3 Comments
Restless Boomers
So, what did the two surviving crew have to say about the cause of the sinking?
MINING.com Editors
According to some reports, they said a crew member had sent a text message to the shipping company stating the vessel was taking on water and was sinking. When the company tried to contact the ship, all attempts failed.
riokid
Why, if the ship was to round Cape Horn, was the ship 2,000-4,000 kilometers off the coast of Uruguay, in the middle of the Atlantic?