The vessel, which is owned by Penglai Jinglu Fishery Co, a Chinese fishing company, capsized around 3 a.m. Tuesday Beijing time, state media CCTV reported.
A Chinese fishing vessel has capsized in the Indian Ocean and its 39 crew members are missing, state media reported Wednesday.
“So far, no missing persons have been found,” state broadcaster CCTV reported, adding that Chinese President Xi Jinping had ordered a search and rescue operation to be launched. . The boat’s crew consists of 17 Chinese sailors, 17 Indonesians and 5 Filipinos, according to CCTV.
Search operation in progress
Rescuers from Australia and several other countries have arrived at the scene of the sinking and China has deployed two vessels to assist in search operations, the channel said.
China has the world’s largest deep-sea fishing fleet and in 2022 it had an estimated 564,000 vessels, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
