Freighter sinks replica of Ming Dynasty Chinese sailing junk near Taiwan, sailors rescued

Freighter sinks replica sailing ship off Taiwan

HONOLULU — A replica of a Ming Dynasty Chinese sailing ship sank off the coast of Taiwan after it was rammed by a freighter, but its sailors were rescued, relatives of Hawaii-based crew members said Monday.

The 54-foot Princess TaiPing, a replica of a Chinese junk built in Taiwan, was on the return leg of a trip that had taken it to ports on the U.S. West Coast.

The 11 crew members clung to floating wreckage for up to five hours during a storm Saturday, about 20 to 30 miles off the coast of Taiwan, before they were picked up by Taiwanese Coast Guard helicopters, relatives said.

Crew members told relatives by e-mail and phone that they had established radio contact with a freighter which was moving on a parallel course in the dark. The freighter suddenly veered into them, slicing the wooden Princess TaiPing in two and then continuing on without stopping, crew member Elizabeth Zeiger said by e-mail to relatives in California.

“We literally watched the entire ship get demolished,” Zeiger said in the e-mail. “It seemed like we were going to get sucked under it, but after it finally passed we were still alive!”

Crew member John Hunter III, one of five Hawaii residents aboard the ship, “called it a miracle that they had survived,” said his mother, Ann Hunter.

The collision came at the end of a journey from Taiwan to the U.S. and back.

Jessica Lee, director of the Taipei Cultural Office in Honolulu, said she was told an official investigation of the collision was being conducted in Taiwan.

The black and red junk took six years to build and prepare for the grand Pacific voyage. It features no engine and no modern sealants in its construction.

Its voyage to America and back was described on the vessel’s Web site as one of “cultural renaissance combining culture, exploration, sports, and creativity,” demonstrating that ancient Chinese ships could cross the Pacific Ocean.

On the Net:

Princess TaiPing: tinyurl.com/cs75e9