The 19 ton tugboat Meiyu No. 18 capsized and sank in the Tsugaru Strait off Hokkaido, Japan. The Meiyu No. 18 was proceeding form Hakodate with a pontoon barge loaded with ship parts when the tug lost stability and rolled over. One crewman on board was lucky enough to find a small breathing space in the cabin. He was spent 15 hours trapped until he was later rescued by the Japanese Coast Guard. Three other crewmen perished with two of their bodies recovered.
The 80 meter long, 1915 dwt dredger Ming Guang capsized and sank off Aomori Prefecture, Japan. The Ming Guang was en route to Gwangyang, South Korea from Hakodate with a cargo of scrap metal when it suffered a leak in the Tsugaru Strait. The crew was unable to stop the water ingress and the dredger began to list over. The 10 crew sent out a distress call and abandon ship before the Ming Guang capsized and sank. The Japan Coast Guard responded quickly and pulled all 10 crew members from the water. However, three of the crewmen were unconscious and later perished before they could reach hospital. Local reports state the chief engineer and captain of the Ming Guang lacked documentation to operate the vessel. Additional reports state the men had worked as labourers before being appointed as captain and chief engineer.
