The Fisheries Agency on Friday confirmed that a Kaohsiung-registered fishing vessel is missing in the Indian Ocean.
The missing vessel is the Lien Sheng Fa (聯昇發), registered in Kaohsiung under CT4-2896, with the radio call sign BJ4896, which sailed off from Port Louis in Mauritius on 7 October 2022, the Cabinet-level agency said in a press release.
The 98-ton ship measures 29.7 meters and has a crew that includes one Taiwanese national and 15 Indonesian nationals, according to the agency.
On the morning of 23 February, family members of the ship’s crew updated the agency on the operations of the vessel.
However, by noon the same day, the agency said it received notice from the same people that they had lost contact with the ship.
The agency confirmed that the last update sent from the ship’s Vessel Monitoring System was noon on 19 February, while the last update by paper was 12 a.m. on 22 February.
In addition to seeking the assistance of seven other Taiwan vessels operating in the Indian Ocean to look for the ship, the agency said it has also contacted nearby nations to assist in the search. (Story via Focus Taiwan)