Ship in wrong hands!

‘Captain’, ‘chief engineer’ of capsized Cambodian ship found to be Bangladeshi labourers

Japanese Coast Guard personnel fish crew members of Ming Guang out of the chilly waters between Honshu and Hokkaido islands on Friday. The crew members abandoned ship after it started listing and finally sank. Photo: AFP

They had little knowledge of navigation and vessels, yet they were the captain and chief engineer of a ship. And the consequence is the loss of three lives and the ship.

The duo are from Bangladesh. They were taken to Tokyo after being rescued from northern Japan coast where their ship — Cambodia-registered “Ming Guang” — capsized with scrap metals on its way to South Korea early Thursday.

Mostofa Kamal, the “captain”, who is from Bagerhat, was a labourer in Mongla port. He studied up to class three at a primary school, Mohammed Nore-Alam, counsellor at Bangladesh embassy in Tokyo, told The Daily Star over the phone.

Meanwhile, the “chief engineer” of the ship, Moniruzzaman, passed the Intermediate examinations and he too was a labourer of the same port. His other details were not known immediately, the counsellor added.

While they were working at the port, a broker named Saiful Islam managed them jobs in a Chinese company, the official said.

Surprisingly, the Cambodian ship authorities later on appointed them as captain and chief engineer of Ming Guang. The ship authorities, however, could not be contacted for comments.

After their rescue, the duo failed to produce any valid documents.

“They are now in Japan and we will send them back home soon,” Nore-Alam said.

Japanese Coast Guard on Friday rescued 10 crew members, including two Bangladeshis, of a Cambodian cargo vessel after it sank off the northern Japan coast, killing three people.

The seven survivors, including the Bangladeshis, were in a stable condition.

They were rescued from the chilly waters of the strait separating Japan’s Honshu and northernmost Hokkaido islands. The crew abandoned the ship just before it sank.

The 1,915 tonne Ming Guang was carrying scrap metal from the northern Japanese port of Hakodate to South Korea when it sprang a leak late Thursday.

Source: The Daily Star