Around 7.45am today, 16 July 2019, AMSA received an alert from the Japan Coast Guard stating that the Myojin Maru No. 8, was in distress after a fire broke out onboard. The vessel was aproximately 1030km west of Perth.
Reports indicated 24 crew members were abandoning the vessel into life boats.
AMSA’s Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) issued a distress priority broadcast to shipping and tasked our Perth based Challenger rescue jet to assist with the search and rescue operation.
The JRCC received an update from the Japan Coast Guard around 10.30am to advise that the crew of the vessel had been successfully rescued by the FV Seifuku Maru 88.
All crew members were reported to be safe and uninjured.
AMSA will continue to liaise with the Japan Coast Guard and the vessel owners to confirm details of the vessel fire and determine any pollution and environmental impacts.
Vision of the rescue from the Perth Challenger jet can be found here