Tangled ship freed from nets after storm

A stranded ship carrying 269 passengers and 15 crew was rescued early on Thursday in Yantai, Shandong province, according to a statement by the Yantai Maritime Safety Administration.

The incident occurred around 9 am on Wednesday, when the vessel, Hehangxinglong, drifted into an aquaculture area during strong winds and rain. Fishing nets became entangled with the propeller and the ship lost power about 200 meters from the dock.

Eight fishing boats arrived to clear the tangled lines, with four divers working underwater. The ship was stranded for nearly 23 hours. No one on the ship was in danger, the authorities said.

Shandong Maritime Search and Rescue Center and the Changdao county government also sent three vessels, two fishing ships and helicopters to the scene.

By 6:30 am on Thursday, all lines had been cleared and the vessel resumed its course to its scheduled destination, Changdao port in Yantai, at 7 am.

Liu Yingwu, captain of the Hehangxinglong, said he is familiar with the surrounding waters but had rarely seen such strong wind and rain.

"The ocean waves were so big that they pushed the vessel directly into the aquaculture zone," the 59-year-old said.

In November 1999, Dashun, a vessel sailing from Yantai to Dalian, a port city in Liaoning province, capsized in the Bohai Sea as a result of strong winds. Nearly 300 people died.

After that, the China Rescue and Salvage Bureau updated its rescue and salvage system to carry out timely rescues at sea.

Zhao Ruixue contributed to this story.

xinwen@chinadaily.com.cn