"Mazda Has 4,700 Vehicles on Tipped Ship Off Alaska

July 26 (Bloomberg) -- A Japanese cargo ship foundered in rough seas off Alaska's Aleutian Islands and the crew was evacuated, leaving 4,700 Mazda Motor Corp. vehicles aboard the listing vessel.
Mazda, which exports about 70 percent of its Japanese production, said the cars were being shipped from its home country for sale in the U.S. and Canada. The Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd. ship had been heading to Vancouver.
``A salvage ship is on the way, but we won't know the status of the vehicles for about a week,'' Jay Amestoy, Mazda's vice president for U.S. government affairs, said today. ``It's tough because the models on board are in very high demand.''
About 60 percent of the vehicles are Mazda3 small cars and 25 percent are CX-7 sport-utility wagons, said Amestoy, who didn't know the shipment's value or Mazda's insurer for the cargo. The 4,700 autos would be worth $117.5 million, based on an average retail price of more than $25,000 each.
The Cougar Ace listed 90 degrees onto its port side in rough seas 230 miles (370 kilometers) south of the islands, the U.S. Coast Guard said. All 23 crew members were evacuated yesterday, Mitsui O.S.K. said. The vessel was still afloat today, said Hidenori Onuki, a spokesman for the company.
Mitsui O.S.K. plans to tow the ship to a port in Alaska."

Galing at hindi lumulubog. Sayang naman yung mga Mazda3 kung sakali.