Ferry bought in Japan sank in Taiwan Strait while en route to Thailand, 5 missing

Passenger ro-ro cargo ship SEATRAN FERRY 12 (ex- OLIVE MARU NO.8) was caught in rough weather in Taiwan Strait off Kaohsiung Taiwan, and issued distress signal, late at night Oct 23. Taiwan Rescue services launched SAR, five ship’s crew were found in the water, floating in life jackets, all were rescued, two of them suffering from injures, but all are understood to be safe, luckily. 5 crew remain missing, SAR is ongoing.
SEATRAN FERRY 12 understood to be bought by Thailand SEATRAN FERYY company in Japan earlier this year, the ship was under way from Japan to Thailand, Gulf of Siam, to be deployed on Gulf passenger lines. All 10 crew are reportedly, Thai nationalities.
Passenger ro-ro cargo ship SEATRAN FERRY 12, IMO 8877849, GT 1037, built 1994, flag Tuvalu, manager SEATRANS FERRY CO., Bangkok.

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My name is Mikhail Voytenko, I’m Russian, professional merchant marine navigator, by education and former experience. I own and run Maritime Bulletin website for more than 10 years. I've been involved in solving a number of piracy hijack cases, including the hijack of ro-ro FAINA, loaded with tanks. It was me who made public, and unravel, freighter ARCTIC SEA mystery. I've been also closely involved in a number of maritime disaster, one of them being MSC FLAMINIA major fire.