Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A Taiwanese ship, carrying 49 crew, has vanished in the South Atlantic Ocean, near the Falkland Islands.
The Hsiang Fu Chun, a 700-tonne squid fishing vessel, was 1,700 nautical miles from the Falklands when it last contacted its company at 3am on 26 February.
At the time the ship’s captain reported that the ship was taking in water.
There are 11 Chinese, 21 Indonesian, 13 Filipino, two Vietnamese and two Taiwanese including the captain on board.
Huang Hong-yen, spokesman for the Taiwanese Fisheries Agency, said: "We still don't know where the ship is and what happened to it."
"We'll do everything we can even though the search is like searching for a needle in the ocean,” he told AFP.
Local Taiwanese reports suggested that the ship could have lost power or been hijacked. There is no evidence that the vessel has sunk.
The remoteness of the Hsiang Fu Chun’s location is hampering search efforts.
Taiwanese officials have appealed to Argentine and British authorities to assist with efforts to find the missing ship.
The Fisheries Agency has also notified other craft in the area to help search for the stricken vessel.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments