Classification
- Incident Type: Collision
- Severity: High
The high-severity classification reflects the sinking of Byakko and the reported missing crew members. The available account does not establish the cause of the collision.
Vessel Details
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Vessel Name | Byakko |
| Vessel Type | Ro-Ro / Car Carrier |
| Gross Tonnage | 11454 |
| Length | 557 feet, approximately 170 m |
| Other vessel | Ulsan Pioneer, a chemical tanker flying the Marshall Islands flag; built in 2016 |
Incident Details
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Date | 2021-05-28 |
| Location | Seto Inland Sea, approximately 2.5 miles off Imabari, Japan |
| Region | Japan |
| Fatalities | |
| Injuries | |
| Missing | 3 |
| Outcome | Byakko sank at approximately 02:40 local time; nine of its 12 crew members were reported rescued and three, including the captain and two engineers, remained missing in the available account. |
| Direct Damage | |
| Estimated Economic Damage |
Key facts
- Byakko collided with the chemical tanker Ulsan Pioneer in the Seto Inland Sea shortly before the sinking.
- The ro-ro vessel sank at approximately 02:40 local time, about 2.5 miles off Imabari.
- Nine of the 12 crew members were reported rescued by the Japanese coast guard and nearby ships.
- The captain and two engineers were among the three crew members reported missing.
- The report states that there were no indications of unusual weather and that the cause of the collision had not been reported.
Narrative
On 28 May 2021, the ro-ro vessel Byakko collided with the chemical tanker Ulsan Pioneer in the Seto Inland Sea. The available FreightWaves account places the sinking approximately 2.5 miles off Imabari, Japan, at about 02:40 local time. Byakko was 557 feet long, had a gross tonnage of 11,454, and was operated by Prince Kaiun. It had left Kobe at 16:30 on the preceding Thursday for Kanda carrying auto parts. Ulsan Pioneer was described as a Marshall Islands-flagged chemical tanker built in 2016 and bound for Osaka from China.
Nine of Byakko's 12 crew members were reported rescued by the Japanese coast guard and nearby ships. Three crew members remained missing, including the 66-year-old captain and two engineers in their twenties, and the search was ongoing when the report was published. The account does not provide a final search outcome, a casualty total beyond the missing crew, or a damage assessment for either vessel. It also reports no indications of unusual weather and gives no established cause for the collision.
Sequence of events
| Date/time | Event |
|---|---|
| 2021-05-27 16:30 local, as reported | Byakko departed Kobe for Kanda carrying auto parts. |
| 2021-05-27, just before midnight local, as reported | Byakko collided with Ulsan Pioneer in the Seto Inland Sea. |
| 2021-05-28 02:40 local, approximately | Byakko sank about 2.5 miles off Imabari. |
Investigation
The available article reports Japanese coast guard rescue operations but does not identify an investigating authority or provide investigation findings. The cause of the collision remained unreported in the source.