The 697-ton fuel tanker Kyokuyo Maru burns off Cape Mikizaki, Mie Prefecture, on July 15, after colliding in fog with another tanker, the Nikko Maru.

Special rescue units boarded the 697-ton Kyokuyo Maru to make sure the fire, which had raged for two days, was completely out.

After confirming there were no flammable or toxic gases such as carbon monoxide in the vessel, they found five bodies and said they are believed to be those of the missing crew.

The Kyokuyo Maru was rammed by another tanker, the 499-ton Nikko Maru, in dense fog some 28 km off Cape Mikizaki in Mie Prefecture July 15.

A second engineer of the Kyokuyo Maru died after being thrown into the sea.

Investigators arrested Nikko Maru Chief Mate Hisao Ueno, 53, on allegations of professional negligence.

He has been quoted as saying he had been paying too much attention to the radar blips of other vessels in the area and had not been monitoring the Kyokuyo Maru on a continuous basis.

The Japan Times Weekly: July 23, 2005
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