Eight dead as South Korean tanker carrying 1,000 tonnes of acid capsizes off Japan

Two crew members remain missing

A South Korean tanker is seen capsized off Mutsure Island, Yamaguchi prefecture, southwestern Japan Wednesday, 20 March 2024 (AP)

At least eight crew members died after a South Korean tanker capsized off the coast of an island in southwestern Japan, with rescue teams still searching for two missing sailors.

The dead were among nine people initially described by authorities as rescued from the Keoyoung Sun tanker after it sent a distress call during rough seas near Japan’s Mutsure Island. One of the rescued person was found in non-life threatening condition, said Japan’s coast guard.

Mutsure is located at the southwestern end of Japan’s main island of Honshu, about 1,000km from Tokyo.

The tanker was carrying 995 tonnes of acrylic acid, officials said. No leak has been detected, and officials are studying what environmental protection measures may be needed in case there is a leak.

The ship was completely capsized by the time rescuers reached the coast.

The vessel had a South Korean captain, along with a crew consisting of a South Korean national, a Chinese national and eight Indonesians, the coast guard said. Earlier, authorities managed to rescue nine members of the crew, without providing a breakdown by rank or nationality.

While earlier officials said all nine were in an “unknown condition”, later officials said they could only confirm that one rescued crew member was alive.

The circumstances leading to the capsizing of the tanker remain unclear.

A South Korean tanker is seen capsized off Mutsure Island, Yamaguchi prefecture, southwestern Japan Wednesday, 20 March 2024 (AP)

A rescue operation is conducted as a South Korean tanker capsized off Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi prefecture, southwestern Japan Wednesday, 20 March, 2024 (AP)

Acrylic acid is used in the manufacture of plastics, in latex applications, in floor polish, in polymer solutions for coatings applications, emulsion polymers, paint formulations, leather finishings, and paper coating.

It can irritate the skin, eyes and mucous membranes, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency. It can also cause blindness if splashed into the eyes.

It is the second reported incident this month of a capsize involving South Korean crew. On 9 March at least six people went missing after a fishing boat carrying nine crew members overturned.

At least two South Koreans and seven Indonesians were aboard when 29.5-tonne vessel capsized in water 68km south of an island in Tongyeong, South Gyeongsang Province.

Three crew members were later found unconscious inside the vessel as 12 Coast Guard patrol vessels, four Navy ships and six helicopters searched for the remaining members of the crew.