Five rescued from listing cargo ship off Honshu, Japan

Five Japanese sailors were safely rescued after their ship lost stability in rough weather conditions off the main island of Honshu on Saturday, May 14.

The 560DWT cargo vessel Meisen Maru was underway off Honshu when the crew sent out a radio message requesting for assistance from the Japan Coast Guard at around 03:30 local time on Saturday.

Reports said that the onboard cargo had shifted, which in turn caused the vessel to list heavily to starboard.

Two men suffered injuries as they were attempting to reach the ship's lifeboats. However, all five of the crew were airlifted to safety by 10:00.

The ship continued to drift until it ran aground, though the coast guard assured that no oil spills have been detected.

Salvors have already begun work to remove the vessel from its current position.