Search ongoing for missing Taiwanese fishing boat: Fisheries Agency

Taipei, Sept. 5 (CNA) The Fisheries Agency (FA) confirmed Friday that search efforts are ongoing after a Taiwanese fishing vessel went missing in waters east of Guam.

The Donggang-registered Sheng Long Yu No. 61 was operating in international waters east of Guam on Thursday when the vessel's position was suddenly lost, the agency said in a news release.

The vessel's operator was immediately notified and on Friday confirmed to authorities that the boat is missing.

The FA said it already notified the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Rescue Command Center to seek assistance from neighboring countries near the area where the boat went missing.

According to the agency, the Sheng Long Yu is a 116.07-ton fishing boat with a crew of 11, including a Taiwanese captain and 10 Indonesian crew members.

It departed Yanpu fishing port in Pingtung County on July 11 to operate in international waters in the western Pacific, the FA said.

The vessel last made contact at noon Wednesday before its tracking system went offline at 1 p.m. the next day, approximately 740 nautical miles east of Guam.

After its tracking system was lost, the FA said, the boat sent a distress signal at around 10 a.m. Friday, roughly 100 nautical miles from its last reported position.

The agency said efforts to look for the missing Sheng Long Yu are ongoing, adding that it is coordinating with nearby Taiwanese vessels to join the search and verify the situation.