An international search and rescue operation is underway to locate the 39 crew members of a Chinese fishing vessel that sank in the Indian Ocean, state media reported on Wednesday.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang urged authorities to strengthen safety procedures for fishing operations at sea.
According to the state broadcaster CCTV, the crew of the boat consists of 17 Chinese seamen, 17 Indonesians and 5 Filipinos.
The ship capsized around 3 a.m. Beijing time (Monday 7 p.m. GMT) on Tuesday, the same source said.
“No missing persons have been found so far,” CCTV said, adding that Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered the launch of a search and rescue operation.
Rescuers from Australia and several other countries have arrived at the site of the sinking and China has dispatched two merchant ships to help with search operations, the channel said.
“It is necessary to strengthen the safety management of fishing vessels at sea and implement preventive measures to ensure maritime safety,” Premier Li Qiang said.
According to CCTV, Beijing has launched an emergency plan involving embassies and consulates in Australia, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Indonesia, the Philippines and other countries.
The vessel was owned by Penglai Jinglu Fishery Co., a Chinese fishing company, and was licensed to fish for flying squid and Pacific sardines, according to the North Pacific Fisheries Commission.
According to location site MarineTraffic, which last located the vessel southeast of Réunion in the Indian Ocean on May 10, it departed Cape Town, South Africa, on May 5 en route to Busan, South Korea.
Penglai Jinglu Fishery Co. was contacted by AFP and declined to comment on the incident.
overfishing
China has the world’s largest deep-sea fishing fleet, although estimates of their size vary widely.
In 2017, Beijing vowed to limit its fleet to 3,000 vessels after controversy over overfishing by Chinese vessels.
However, a 2020 report by the British think tank Overseas Development Institute estimated the Chinese fleet at just under 17,000 ships.
Due to the scarcity of resources, Chinese fishermen keep sailing further and are involved in more and more sea disputes and accidents.
Two Chinese crew members died in April when their ship sank off the Philippines.
In 2019, Manila accused a Chinese ship of ramming a Philippine boat in the South China Sea, sinking it and endangering the lives of nearly a dozen crew members.