Cause of missing sailors in Japan still unclear

Taiwan’s ship Hsiang Fur Far (Source: sysbc)

 It remains unclear why three Vietnamese sailors went missing from a Taiwanese fishing vessel off the coast of the northern Japanese prefecture of Hokkaido, said Tong Hai Nam, Deputy Head of the Overseas Labour Management under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Society on October 16.

Nam said the three sailors are reported to be good at swimming.

He also rejected the possibility that the sailors had jumped off the boat in an attempt to quit their job because of ill treatment and low income, saying that on the ship there are 21 Vietnamese sailors in total, many of whom have worked on the ship since 2013. The three missing seamen were among the newcomers.

Taiwan’s ship Hsiang Fur Far reported that on the night of October 8, three Vietnamese crew members – Le Van Thuc, Thieu Dinh Thuong, and Nguyen Dinh Nga – jumped into the sea, about 12 kilometres from Hokkaido’s Shiraoi Port.

After being informed of the case, the Japan Coast Guard deployed five ships and two planes to search for the sailors but they have found no hint of the missing sailors.

Thousands of Vietnamese seafarers go to work abroad annually, mainly in the Republic of Korea, Japan, and Taiwan (China) with monthly income ranging from 450-1,000 USD.-VNA