North Korean ship crashes into Japanese Ministry coast guard patrol

Around twenty North Koreans were sent overboard as a North Korean boat collided with a Japanese fisheries agency patrol vessel in the Sea of Japan on Monday, according to reports. More than 10 crew members of the North Korean fishing vessel involved in the accident with a Japanese patrol boat were rescued.

Patrol ships and aircraft sent to the site to rescue crew

According to reports, Kazuma Nohara, the Japan coast guard spokesman stated that they were dispatching rescue boats and aircraft to the area, as soon as they got the news about the collision. However, they couldn’t gather any further details regarding the situation. All the crew members that abandoned the fishing boat were rescued and handed over to another North Korean ship, the Coast Guard said.

As per reports, the North Korean boat was believed to be a fishing vessel, which got capsized partially soon after the crash. A Japanese Fisheries Agency official said the patrol boat had sent a warning to the North Korean ship asking it to get out of the  Japan's exclusive economic zone as it was fishing illegally. However, after the collision, there were no updates or immediate word on the status of the crew in the fishing boat. The collision occurred in waters some 350 kilometres northwest of Noto peninsula in Ishikawa prefecture in central Japan, Nohara said. 

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The Japan Coast Guard said it has sent patrol ships and aircraft to the site, to launch the rescue operation of the crew members. The status of the fishermen wasn’t immediately known but reportedly no one on the Japanese ship was hurt. He also said that the Japanese patrol has been strengthened around the water there in cooperation with the fisheries agency, in recent years following reports that many North Korean fishing boats were poaching fish and squids.

According to experts, in order to satisfy the government’s demands to get bigger catches, most of the fishermen from the North are travelling far out to sea. 

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Ghost ships

Dozens of North Korean fishing vessels wash up on Japan's coast every year, according to reports. However, they are more prone to mechanical faults and other functioning problems due to their old poorly equipped vessels, including running out of fuel, and there are few ways for them to call for rescue. 

Boats have also washed up on Japanese shores with the crew on board dead, popularly referred to as "ghost ships" by local media. In 2018, 10 North Koreans rescued from a tiny wooden boat drifting off northern Japan were deported back to their country. 

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