‘We have to be strong’, says family of Singaporean, 25, reported missing after falling off cargo ship in US waters
Muhammad Furqan Mohamed Rashid, 25, was reported on Tuesday (June 20) to have fallen off the African Cardinal — the ship he was working on — when he was walking on the main deck to do some exercises.
SINGAPORE — Hoping to one day become the captain of a shipping vessel, Mr Muhammad Furqan Mohamed Rashid went to the United States to upgrade his skills but tragedy struck on Tuesday (June 20) when he reportedly fell off the forward of the ship.
Mr Muhammad Furqan, 25, is said to have fallen off the African Cardinal — the ship he was working on — when he was walking on the main deck to exercise.
The bulk carrier, which was travelling from China to the US, was along the Santa Barbara Channel en route to the Port of Long Beach in California, when the incident happened.
The Los Angeles Daily News reported that United States Coast Guard (USCG) received a report of the incident at about 5am local time on Tuesday (8 pm Tuesday Singapore time). The ship was then about 25.5km off the California coast.
Speaking to TODAY on Thursday (June 22), Mr Muhammad Furqan’s brother, Mr Fathul Islam, 27, said his family received the news of his brother’s disappearance on Wednesday.
“My father received the news at about 6am. I received it at 8am because (my parents) knew I was working the night shift and they did not want me to be emotionally affected by it,” Mr Fathul said.
He told TODAY that his younger brother was an “honest and sincere” worker who took his job "very seriously".
He also described his younger brother as a filial son who was caring and respectful to his siblings as well.
Mr Muhammad Furqan obtained his diploma in nautical studies from Singapore Polytechnic and was a marine firefighter in the Singapore Civil Defence Force during his national service, before joining his current company, Apex Ship Management, as a deck officer. He held the rank of 2nd deck officer.
The family was told that after Mr Muhammad Furqan fell overboard, the watchkeeper of the cargo ship immediately called for help and released the “Man Overboard” lifebuoy in an attempt to rescue him.
The vessel then turned back to search for him and the USCG was alerted to the incident as well.
The USCG activated a helicopter and two coast guard boats to the scene, while two other cargo vessels nearby also assisted in the search and rescue operation. One more helicopter subsequently joined in the search efforts, Mr Fathul said.
Mr Fathul told TODAY that while his family is devastated by the incident, it is trying to remain strong.
“It’s tough, but we have to be strong as a family. We believe any challenges that we receive, we are capable of handling (it),” he said.
Continuous search efforts were carried out for more than 15 hours, but the search teams only managed to retrieve the lifebuoy that was tossed into the sea after Mr Muhammad Furqan had fallen overboard.
The USCG called off search and rescue efforts on Tuesday night local time (Wednesday Singapore time) after covering an area of more than 200 nautical square miles (686 sq km), according to the Los Angeles Daily News.
Chief warrant officer and the search and rescue mission coordinator John Rose was quoted as saying: “The decision to suspend an active search is never easy and is only made after exhaustive efforts to find the missing person.”
“We extend our deepest sympathies to this crew member’s friends and family,” he added in a statement.
Responding to queries from TODAY, a spokesperson from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said the ministry is in contact with Mr Muhammad Furqan’s family.
“We will continue to monitor developments and render the necessary consular support to the family during this difficult time.”
In a statement on Thursday night, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) confirmed that The African Cardinal's ship management company had informed it earlier that day that a Singaporean crew member had been reported missing after falling overboard off the coast of Santa Barbara.
"The US Coast Guard was activated to help in the search efforts but did not manage to locate the crew. Search efforts have since ceased," said MPA in its statement.
No other Singaporeans were onboard the bulk carrier, it added.
MPA and Apex Ship Management are rendering support to Mr Furqan's family, the authority said.
TODAY has reached out to Apex Ship Management for more information on the incident.
