Devon Bay
On the morning of January 23, the 190 meter long, 56095 dwt bulk carrier Devon Bay (IMO: 9622849) capsized in the West Philippine Sea approximately 55 nautical miles northwest of Bajo de Masinloc/Scarborough Shoal. The Devon Bay was en route to Yangjiang from Gutalac, Zamboanga loaded with iron ore when it suffered a cargo shift and developed a list. As the list increased to 25 degrees, the crew sent out a distress call before abandoning ship into life rafts. A short time later, the Devon Bay capsized and sank.
The Philippine Coast Guard and the China Coast Guard launched a search and rescue operation. The Philippine Coast Guard deployed the vessels BRP Teresa Magbanua and BRP Cape San Agustin along with two aircraft to search the area where the Devon Bay was last reported. The Chinese Coast Guard had patrol vessels near Scarborough Shoal and began a search and rescue for the crew. By midday, the Chinese Coast Guard reported to have recovered 17 of the 21 of the crew. Two of the crew had perished and one was in critical condition. The remaining four crew were still reported as missing.
