Taiwan authorities say they are ruling out pirates as a possible cause in the case of a missing fishing boat.
The boat in question is a 700 ton squid fishing vessel – the Hsiang Fu Chun – which was registered in Kaohsiung. The last contact with the boat was on February 26th, when the captain called the owner to report a leak on deck. At the time, the boat was located in the South Atlantic, about 1,500 nautical miles off the coast of Argentina.
The boat was carrying a crew of 49, including 21 from Indonesia, 13 from the Philippines, 11 from China, two from Vietnam, and two including the captain from Taiwan.
Taiwan’s fisheries agency said on Sunday that it has initially ruled out pirates as a possible explanation for the missing boat. That’s because the area where the boat was last reported is remote and known to have strong waves. Officials say, though, that they have not completely ruled out the possibility of foul play.
The fisheries agency says that after ten days, the search for the missing boat has turned up nothing. It said, though, that it would closely monitor search and rescue efforts and offer assistance to both the National Rescue Command Center and the Foreign Ministry.