Cattle ship capsizes in storm off Japan’s coast

A ship carrying 43 crew and nearly 6,000 cattle from New Zealand to China has capsized on Wednesday, after an engine failed in stormy weather in the East China Sea.

It’s reported that only one crewman has been rescued by Japan’s coast guard.

On Wednesday the ship - the Gulf Livestock 1 sent a distress call from the west of Amami Oshima island in southwestern Japan as a powerful Typhoon Maysak lashed the area with strong winds and heavy seas.

Japan's coastguard said it had rescued one crew member, Sareno Edvarodo, a 45-year-old chief officer from the Philippines, while searching for the ship.

According to Edvarodo, the ship lost an engine before it was hit by a wave and capsized.

The crew included 39 people from the Philippines, two from New Zealand, and two from Australia.

The Philippines government said it was coordinating with the Japanese coastguard as it searched for the missing crew members ahead of another typhoon building in the region.

Typhoon Haishen is brewing south of Japan and is expected to hit the Korean coast on September 6 or 7.

Meanwhile, New Zealand has suspended the export of live cattle following questions about the safety and ethics of transporting livestock by sea.