The incident reported on in the article below, is a far to frequent occurrence in Canadian ports. Sadly. The Tokyo Marine branded chemical tanker was built in 1996 and this company's ships are a common sight in the port of Vancouver. I hope the two other men who jumped from the Panamanian flagged MV Ginga Falcon are ok. The ship is operated by Tokyo Marine a division of Japan's Mitsui OSK Line.
Three crew members missing from cargo ship; one found drowned Canadian Press
VANCOUVER — The case of two Bangladeshi men who went missing from a freighter moored in English Bay is now in the hands of the Vancouver Police Department.
"They either made it ashore or they're going to float to the surface," said Lt.-Cmdr. Gerry Pash of Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt."There's no possibility of finding somebody alive in the water now."
The body of a third man was discovered Monday morning in the frigid shallow waters off Spanish Banks, on the southern end of English Bay.
A Coast Guard cutter, a hovercraft, and a vessel from the Vancouver Police Department searched the bay, which hugs Vancouver, West Vancouver and North Vancouver.
Small private and commercial aircraft were also involved in the search.
The cargo ship, Ginga Falcon, a Panamanian-registered bulk carrier, anchored overnight in English Bay after arriving Sunday evening from San Francisco, Pash said.
The three men didn't show up for duty early Monday.
They were reported missing about 90 minutes later after the ship's crew did its own search of the vessel.
The search for the men was called off after six hours and handed off to police and border services officials as a missing persons case.
"It's been a very tight search with a lot of resources there," Pash said.
"After six or seven hours the possibility of surviving in 12-degree water is pretty reduced," he added.
Pash said the crew members are all Bangladeshi men and range in age from 22 to 25.
The vessel is owned by Unix Lines.
Spokesman Darrell Wilson said the company will cooperate fully with Canadian authorities in any investigation into the death disappearances.
"Right now, our biggest concern is holding out hope that the remaining crew members cane be found," he said.
The ship is a tanker and has a crew of between 20 and 30 people, Wilson said.
Unix Line operates 33 cargo ships internationally.
Another news report can be seen here.Labels: Canada, seafarers, west coast
