Incident With The Car Carrier Cougar Ace

July 25, 2006

TOKYO - Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL, President: Akimitsu Ashida) reports that the MOL-operated car carrier Cougar Ace was heavily listed at sea south of the Aleutian Islands on Monday, July 24, outlined as follows:

• Overview
  At about 5:00p.m., July 24 (JST), MOL received a report from Cougar Ace laden with completed cars, which was on the voyage from Japan to the west coast of North America. According to the report, the vessel was listing heavily to port and became not under command. The position was approx. latitude 48 degrees 14 minutes north and longitude 174 degrees 26 minutes west.

  All 23 crewmembers are confirmed safe, and they have put on immersion suits and are waiting at a safe location onboard for rescue by the US Coast Guard (USCG). Apart from one crewmember who injured a leg, all are in good condition. According to the USCG, the vessel is stable though listed, and besides a small quantity of sheen, no loss of cargo or other items have been observed.

• Response
  The vessel immediately requested USCG to rescue her crew. USCG helicopter is on its way to the scene, and is scheduled to arrive afternoon, July 25 (JST) to rescue those seafarers. At 6:30 p.m., July 24, MOL formed a task force headed by President Ashida for an emergency response.
• Cause of the Incident
  The cause of the incident is currently under investigation.
• Profile of Cougar Ace
  Gross tons: 55,328 tons
  Type of vessel: Car carrier
  Built: October 1993
  Flag : Singapore
  Seafarers: 23 in total: 2 Singaporeans, 8 Myanmars, 13 Filipinos