Sincerity Ace under tow following fire in Pacific

Owner of car carrier that caught fire on New Year’s Eve says the cause of the fire still is undetermined.    Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd., the owner and manager of the car carrier Sincerity Ace, which caught fire in the North Pacific on Dec. 31, says the ship has been taken under tow by the salvage tug Koyo Maru and is being taken to a yet-to-be-determined location in the Far East. The ship was on charter to Mitsui O.S.K. Lines.
   The 650-foot car carrier had a crew of 21 when a fire started early Dec. 31. The crew battled the fire in an attempt to extinguish it but were not successful and were forced to abandon the vessel.
   Five crew members died and 16 were rescued by other merchant ships in the area.
   The tug’s crew was unable to locate the bodies of the missing crew members.
   A spokesman for Shoei Kisen Kaisha said the cause of the fire is unknown at this time, but that it will work to try to determine a cause. When the tug arrived at the ship, there were no flames and no more smoke is coming from the car carrier.