Japan's press agency is reporting that the cargo ship carrying dozens of crew members, including two from New Zealand, has issued a distress signal in the middle of a typhoon.
The agency, NHK says, a Panamanian-registered cargo ship issued a distress signal in waters to the west of Amami Oshima Island in southwestern Japan.
The Japan Coast Guard says the distress signal from the "Gulf Livestock 1" which is believed to be carrying 43 crew members - 39 from the Philippines, two from New Zealand, and one each from Australia and Singapore.
