Japanese Boat Found Chief Cause Of 2005 Collision With Israeli Ship

A local marine accident inquiry determined Friday that a Japanese fishing boat was primarily responsible for a 2005 collision with an Israeli container ship in the Pacific off Hokkaido in which the Japanese vessel capsized and seven of its eight crew members died. Shinsei Maru No. 3The collision occurred because the 19-ton saury fishing boat Shinsei Maru No. 3 had not avoided the course of the 41,507-ton Zim Asia, said Presiding Judge Kenichi Yonehara of the Yokohama Marine Accident Inquiry Agency in handing down the ruling. Zim AsiaBut the judge refused to issue any advisory as requested by investigators that the agency urge both the owner of the Japanese ship and the captain and a navigator of the Israeli vessel to take improvement measures with regard to their ships' lookouts and the emergency evacuation routes for crew members.