Japanese shipping giant Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd (MOL) said that its liquefied natural gas (LNG)carrier LNG Pioneer safely rescued four castaways in the Pacific Ocean about 270km off Davao in the Island of Mindanao, the Philippines.
The Bahamas-flagged LNG Pioneer was sailing off the coast of Davao Oriental province in the southern Philippines when it came across the distressed crew floating in the water aboard what was left of their fishing boat.
The sequence of events was as follows:
At 11:28 (all times in local time) on July 5, the 2005 built LNG Pioneer spotted the castaways while underway.
By 12:25 the same day, the crew had safely rescued the four castaways.
At 04:02 the next day, the four castaways were handed over to the local authorities off Davao in the Island of Mindanao, the Philippines.
The survivors said they were fishing in the waters off Mati town in Davao Oriental on June 30 when strong waves tossed their vessel about and caused it to strike a nearby fish marker buoy.
The LNG carrier was built by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (Geoje, South Korea).