<p>Thirteen fishermen were missing off the coast of northern Japan today after their boat sank following a collision with a large cargo vessel, the Japanese coastguard said.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The 119-ton tuna-fishing boat, Horiei Maru, had 22 crew members on board -- 17 Japanese and five Indonesians -- when it collided with the Panamanian-flagged 25,000-ton cargo ship Nikkei Tiger early today.<br /><br />The coastguard said it received a distress signal from the fishing boat at around 2:30 am (local time) after the collision some 900 kilometres off Miyagi prefecture.<br /><br />Nine crew were rescued by another ship, the coastguard said in a statement, adding search operations were ongoing. The cargo vessel was undamaged and its crew of 21 was said to be safe.</p>
<p>Thirteen fishermen were missing off the coast of northern Japan today after their boat sank following a collision with a large cargo vessel, the Japanese coastguard said.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The 119-ton tuna-fishing boat, Horiei Maru, had 22 crew members on board -- 17 Japanese and five Indonesians -- when it collided with the Panamanian-flagged 25,000-ton cargo ship Nikkei Tiger early today.<br /><br />The coastguard said it received a distress signal from the fishing boat at around 2:30 am (local time) after the collision some 900 kilometres off Miyagi prefecture.<br /><br />Nine crew were rescued by another ship, the coastguard said in a statement, adding search operations were ongoing. The cargo vessel was undamaged and its crew of 21 was said to be safe.</p>