Boat vanishes

in 'ship graveyard'  

South Korean authorities stepped up search efforts for Chinese fishermen who fell into the sea after their boat collided with a 1,250-ton South Korean cargo ship, the Ocean Ace No. 6. The 10m fishing boat sank in the waters about 126 kilometres off the west-Gyengnyelbi islet on the west coast of South Korea on Wednesday 01 September 2010. All crewmembers of the fishing boat are missing, the exact number is not known. The ship could not be located through satellite tracking. Small boats have less of a chance to survive such incidents especially amid bad weather and they can't afford satellite-locating systems, which makes it harder for them to be identified.

The South Korean Coast Guard has sent two additional 3,000-ton patrol vessels to the site where the incident occurred, but there has been no substantial progress. China's Ministry of Transport dispatched a helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft to the area. The incident remains under investigation. The only items retrieved from the sunken boat were two barrels and three life jackets.

The rescue was made more difficult due to bad weather. Typhoon Kompasu reached Ganghwa Island on the west coast, about 80 kilometres west of Seoul, at a speed of 45 kilometres per hour Thursday, according to the South Korea's meteorological authorities.

The waters around the west-Gyengnyelbi islet are historically dubbed a "ship graveyard." Many ancient ships sank there, and collisions of fishing boats are frequent. A total of 177 incidents have occurred in the waters off the west coast of South Korea in the first half of the year, resulting in 10 deaths and five people missing. Provisional fishing restrictions apply in the area in a fishery agreement between China and South Korea signed in 2000. Under the agreement, Chinese fishing boats can enter the zone only after obtaining fishing licenses issued by South Korea's fishery authorities. About 1,600 licenses are issued by South Korea each year.

The date of the sinking marked the end of the fishing season.