Following the accident involving the bulker “Devon Bay” on January 22, the crew reported four missing persons. The coastguard ended the search for them without success.
The Japanese shipping company K Line, which operates the Supramax bulker, thanked the coast guards of the Philippines and China, the rescue centers and the ships and crew members involved for their efforts during the search operation, which lasted over a week. The four crew members who had been reported missing since the Devon Bay accident could not be found.
“We extend our deepest condolences to the families of our deceased crew members and our thoughts are with the families of the missing crew members,” reads a statement from K Line.
The coast guards have withdrawn their rescue ships from the search area in the South China Sea. The shipping company itself had also provided ships for the search.
“Devon Bay” sank in the South China Sea
The “Devon Bay” was sailing from the Philippine port of Matalvi and was due to arrive in Yangjiang, China, on January 24. The bulker was loaded with nickel ore. At the time of the accident, the ship had a list of 25 degrees and capsized about 55 nm northwest of Scarborough Reef in the South China Sea. The cause of the bulker’s accident has not yet been clearly determined. K Line announced that it would continue to cooperate with the authorities. However, no further comments will be made while the investigation into the cause of the accident is ongoing.
The crew of the bulker consisted of 21 Filipino seamen. 17 of them were rescued, but two succumbed to their injuries shortly afterwards. The 190 m long “Devon Bay” (56,095 tdw) was built in 2013 and sails under the flag of Singapore.
