Israeli ship suspected of 'hit and run'

Japanese Coast Guard says Israeli-registered ship may have hit a capsized fishing boat; South Korean authorities say the Israeli ship, docked in local port, showed signs of collision

Associated Press |Last update: 10.01.05 , 14:44

An Israeli-registered ship is suspected of hitting a Japanese fishing boat that capsized earlier this week, killing seven crew members, the Japanese Coast Guard said Saturday.

Japan, which investigated the whereabouts of several ships seen in the area, was told Friday by South Korean authorities that an Israeli ship showing signs of a collision had docked in the southern South Korean port of Busan, coast guard spokesman Osamu Kon said.

Korean authorities, acting on a request from the Japanese coast guard, confirmed there was damage on the hulk of the ship, Kon said.

An official at South Korea's Busan Coast Guard, who declined to be named, said the Israeli container, named Zim Asia and staffed with 20 crewmen, had left Busan for Shanghai as South Korea is not authorized to conduct investigations.

While South Korean authorities suspected it had been involved in an accident, the ship's captain insisted he didn't feel any collision, the official said.

'No definite conclusions reached'

Seven crew members were killed and one was rescued when the No. 3 Shinseimaru overturned about 40 kilometers (25 miles) off the cape of Nosappu in Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost island state, between 1:30 a.m. and 3 a.m. Wednesday.

Fishing radars showed a ship passed through the accident site also early Wednesday, and suddenly changed direction, according to Kon.

Coast guard planes later cited the Israeli container vessel in nearby waters.

"We are acting on suspicions that the Israeli ship was involved, but we've reached no definite conclusions yet," Kon said, adding that Japanese investigations were continuing.

However, another spokesman for the coast guard, Hirofumi Matsuse, said that because the incident took place in high seas, Japan does not have the authority to conduct investigations on ships other than Japanese vessels.

A spokesman for Zim said in response Saturday that "the Zim Asia ship is continuing on its way from Korea to Shanghai, China. The ship's captain told company headquarters in Haifa that he was not involved in the incident with the Japanese fishing boat."

The spokesman also said that all ships in the vicinity of the accident two days ago were investigated, including the ship belonging to Zim.

Meanwhile, the Israeli embassy in Tokyo said they had not yet received an official request from the authorities regarding the incident. The Consul in Seoul also said they were unfamiliar with the incident.