All nine crew of a Chinese fishing boat were rescued after their boat collided with a cargo ship and sank. It happened at about 04:00 local time on Sunday, 8 November 2026.
The collision was in the sea south of Huangxing island, in Zhoushan, Zhejiang province. The newspaper Beijing News reported the accident on 9 November.
What happened
The fishing boat is the Min Lian Yu 63859. After the collision with the cargo ship, water came into its engine room. The boat then sank.
The coast guard and maritime rescue units went to the scene quickly after the alarm. They rescued all nine people who were on the fishing boat.
The local coast guard said all nine crew were rescued, the news site Ifeng reports. The authorities sent a navigation warning to ships in the area. The cause of the collision is still under investigation. The reports do not name the cargo ship or say if anyone was hurt.
Why early morning is dangerous
Collisions between merchant ships and fishing boats are a known problem off the Chinese coast. In 2025, China's Maritime Safety Administration (MSA) sent a warning to its offices about them. It counted six such collisions on the coast since April of that year.
The MSA named the main problems: poor radio contact between ships and fishing boats, a poor lookout, and watches not kept as required. It warned about the "black four hours" after midnight and the time around dawn and dusk. This collision happened at about 04:00.
Similar accidents happen elsewhere in Asia. In Taiwan, two boats collided off Kinmen and one sank.
What crews can do to avoid collisions with fishing boats
On the bridge, keep a proper lookout by sight and by radar, also with the autopilot on. Take extra care between midnight and dawn.
Do not trust AIS (Automatic Identification System) alone. Many small fishing boats have no AIS or switch it off.
Watch for groups of fishing boats and their nets. Slow down and keep a wide distance. Act early and make your turn clear.
Keep a listening watch on VHF channel 16. Call fishing boats that come close.
At anchor, keep a lookout too. If a fishing boat comes close and does not answer, warn it early. The MSA says to use the whistle, a daylight signal lamp or a laser torch.
On fishing boats, keep a crew member on watch at all times, also when fishing or resting. Keep navigation lights on and the radio switched on.
If a collision happens, call for help at once on VHF channel 16. Count the crew and put on lifejackets. Emergency numbers are on Crewboard's useful links page.
Good watchkeeping is a key skill for deck officers. You can find open jobs for 3rd Officers on Crewboard.
Cover photo: Fishing boats at Shenjiamen fishing harbour, Zhoushan. Illustrative photo, not a boat in this story. Photo: Maeshima hiroki/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped).
Sources: Beijing News via Sina: Fishing boat sinks after collision with cargo ship near Huangxing island, Zhoushan; all nine crew rescued (9 Nov 2026, in Chinese), Ifeng: Zhoushan collision, local coast guard says all nine crew rescued, cause under investigation (9 Nov 2026, in Chinese), China Maritime Safety Administration: Warning notice on recent collisions between merchant ships and fishing boats (2025, in Chinese).
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