Filipino crew member falls ill on ‘death ship’ in Australia

On June 8, a Filipino crew member of the so-called “death ship” Sage Sagittarius was transferred with a helicopter to hospital, suffering severe abdominal pains.

The accident came in addition to the unresolved shipboard mystery.

During the last few weeks, the Sage Sagittarius has been the focus of an inquest in Sydney (Australia), because of the mysterious deaths of three crewmembers, two of them Filipinos, who lost their life in 2012, over a six-week period.

Filipino crew member falls ill on ‘death ship’ in Australia

Since the vessel became known as the “death-ship”, Australian media are trying to cover up the new case information, avoiding to comment on the new incident.

Аccording to the limited information released for the media, at 11:50 am local time, a helicopter landed on the vessel controlled by NYK subsidiary Hachiuma Steamship off the port of Newcastle. The seaman was transported to a nearby hospital. Doctors commented that the man is now stable and in a good condition.

In 2012, in a period of six weeks, three men died on the ship in mysterious circumstances, giving the fame of the Sage Sagittarius as the “death-ship”.

During the previous investigations, the ship’s captain has been suspected in gun-dealing, abuse and misuse of his position.

In the same time, the inquest in Sydney has revealed some more intriguing details, while investigating the three mysterious deaths aboard the ship, owned by Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK).

The widow of Hector Collado, the ship engineer, who died on board the vessel in 2012, was offered US$ 37,493 ( AUS$ 48,100) by NYK as a compensation, if she vowed not to pursue legal action. However, she has hired a lawyer in order to protect hers and her husband’s rights.

Mrs. Collado was told by the NYK that her husband had died of a heart attack, while the ship was docked at the Port of Newcastle. After further investigations, it was found that he fell to his death. Some evidence show that prior to the fall, there was a dripping blood from a likely attack from someone onboard.