Photo/Illutration Japan Coast Guard officials assess damage to the No. 8 Tomi Maru fishing boat at Hachinohe Port in Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, on March 1. The bow was badly holed in the collision. (Yoshinori Hayashi)

HACHINOHE, Aomori Prefecture--Thirteen crew members of a Belize-flagged cargo ship are missing after it collided with a Japanese fishing vessel off this northeastern prefecture.

The 1,989-ton Guoxing 1, with 14 crew members aboard, made an emergency call to the 2nd Regional Coast Guard Headquarters in Shiogama, Miyagi Prefecture, which oversees the Tohoku region, around 10:15 p.m. on Feb. 29.

The caller said the ship had collided with a fishing boat and was taking on water. The ship was navigating waters off Tomari fishing port in Aomori Prefecture's Rokkasho village.

It sank about 20 minutes later.

The surviving crew member told rescuers the ship carried Chinese, Vietnamese and Philippine nationals.

According to the coast guard, the ship collided with the 138-ton No. 8 Tomi Maru operated by the Tomimaru Akiyama fishing company, based in Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture.

One of the 15 crew members aboard the fishing boat suffered head injuries in the collision and was taken to a hospital.

The survivor of the cargo ship, a 33-year-old male Vietnamese, arrived at Hachinohe Port in Hachinohe city after 2 a.m. on March 1. After disembarking, rescuers took him away by stretcher. The man was conscious and able to speak.

The fishing boat arrived at the port after 11 a.m. that day. The bow of the boat was badly holed in places and had deep scratch marks on the port side.

"I pray the missing crew members will all be found quickly,” said Hiroki Akiyama, senior managing director of the fishing company.

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