Tsu, Mie Pref. –
An officer aboard a cargo ship was arrested after the vessel collided with a recreational fishing boat off Toba, Mie Prefecture, on Friday, leaving two men aboard the fishing boat dead.
Among those aboard the 16-ton fishing boat, Kokichi Taniguchi, 84, and Motohiro Nakagawa, 67, both anglers from Matsusaka, Mie, died, while 10 others in their 60s to 80s were injured, according to the Toba Coast Guard Office and other sources.
Following the incident, the coast guard arrested Hanon Sugimoto, the 21-year-old second navigation officer who was steering the cargo ship, on suspicion of professional negligence.
The 499-ton cargo ship is believed to have rammed into the boat that was anchored for fishing, splitting the fishing boat’s hull in two.
On Friday, the cargo ship departed from the port of Kinuura in neighboring Aichi Prefecture around 10 a.m. and was heading for the port of Mizushima, Okayama Prefecture.
The fishing boat left a Toba port around 11:40 a.m. with the captain and anglers aboard, and had been anchored near the accident scene from around noon.
The Japan Transport Safety Board plans to dispatch four marine accident investigators.
