At approximately 2220 hours (local time) on 8 August 2026, the Taiwan-flagged fishing vessel "Jih Yu No. 868" (IMO No. 9781542, gross tonnage 1484), with 1 captain, 30 foreign seafarers, and 1 foreign fishery observer on board, caught fire while underway on the high seas of the South Pacific Ocean. All personnel on board were safely evacuated. At approximately 1355 hours on 11 August 2026, the vessel sank. The incident caused no casualties or environmental pollution.

The Taiwan Transportation Safety Board (TTSB) classified the occurrence as a major marine occurrence in accordance with the Transportation Occurrence Investigation Act and with reference to the Casualty Investigation Code of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). An Investigator-in-Charge has been appointed and an Investigation Task Force has been established to conduct the safety investigation.

Further information and updates will be published on the TTSB website as the investigation progresses.

Eric Shen, Director

Secretary Office

Tel: +886-2-7727-6229

E-mail: ericshen@ttsb.gov.tw

Roger Ma, Investigator

Marine Occurrence Investigation Division

Tel: +886-2-7727-6250

E-mail: rogerma@ttsb.gov.tw