A fisherman from Indonesia was rescued by a Chinese vessel after drifting alone in the Pacific Ocean for 26 days, surviving on fishing and rainwater. The incident highlights a remarkable tale of survival and international cooperation.
On August 12, Shanghai immigration authorities issued an emergency temporary entry permit for an Indonesian fisherman who had spent 26 days adrift at sea. The permit allowed him to complete disembarkation procedures and transit back home. At 11:30 AM, the French-flagged liquefied natural gas carrier Cheniere (trading as LNG) docked at the Yangshan Deepwater Port LNG terminal. The Yangshan border inspection station received a notification from shipping agents that a special passenger was aboard and wanted to disembark in China.
The fisherman, from Ternate, North Maluku, Indonesia, had set out on July 6 to fish for tuna. His engine failed due to a mechanical malfunction, leaving his boat adrift. The vessel drifted until encountering the Cheniere LNG carrier, which had departed from Gladstone, Australia, on July 26, fully loaded with LNG, and was heading to Shanghai. On August 1 at 5:20 PM, while en route, the crew spotted a small, cabinless blue wooden boat with only one person aboard. To ensure navigational safety, the ship slowed down. When it was about 300 meters from the small boat, the occupant jumped into the ocean without any life-saving equipment.
In the open Pacific, risks such as the suction of the ship's wake, hypothermia from cold water, and strong currents can be fatal, making a sea rescue extremely dangerous. The captain of the Cheniere quickly assembled the crew, activated the man-overboard emergency rescue plan, and began the rescue operation. The ship lowered a gangway, deployed lifebuoys and a pilot ladder, and reversed its engines at full power to reduce speed. Once the pilot ladder was in place, the distressed individual grabbed it and, with the help of the crew, climbed aboard, successfully rescued. The ship continued its voyage to Shanghai one hour later.
The rescued individual had no identification documents or personal belongings, so his identity and survival story could only be based on his own account. After boarding, he stated that he survived the 26 days by catching fish and collecting rainwater. According to China's entry and exit regulations, foreign vessels entering the country must report all personnel aboard to border authorities. Since the rescued man had no documents, the ship's crew submitted his self-reported identity and rescue details to the Yangshan border inspection station. Upon receiving the report, the station immediately contacted the Indonesian Consulate General in Shanghai to assist with identity verification and arrange for his return home. The source of this information is a report from Upstream News and The Paper, edited by Wu Kan and supervised by Song Fangcan.