Search for lost skipper abandoned
An air and sea search was called off yesterday for the ship's captain who went missing following a collision with another vessel.
A Marine Department search for the 51-year-old Japanese skipper, surnamed Yamashipa, began after crew members reported him missing late on Friday.
Mr Yamashipa was last seen at about 9.30 pm that day, several hours after his vessel, the Lilac Princess, and another tanker collided near Po Toi Island.
The department said the search had been abandoned because the missing man's chances of survival were slim.
Officials said they did not suspect foul play.
The man's vessel left the South Lamma Dangerous Goods Anchorage for Zhuhai on Saturday carrying liquefied petroleum gas.
The other tanker, the Matsukaze, was seriously damaged in the collision.
It leaked an unknown amount of vegetable oil into the sea and was later towed to Lamma.
