A U.S. cargo ship accidentally struck and sank a Chinese fishing boat in the East China Sea, leaving 17 fishermen missing, the official Xinhua News Agency said Monday. Xinhua said the U.S. ship, the President Monroe, left the scene immediately after the accident Friday afternoon and made no effort to rescue the fishermen. U.S. Embassy spokesman Mckinney Russell said the Chinese Foreign Ministry notified the embassy of the accident, but that he had no other information. ``It's still an alleged incident as far as we are concerned,'' Russell said. ``We haven't been able to confirm there was a collision. We don't know where the (U.S.) vessel would have come from or where it was bound.'' Lloyds Register of Ships says the President Monroe belongs to American President Lines of San Francisco. It is a 860-foot long container weighing 40,627 tons. Xinhua said the accident took place off the port of Lianyugang in coastal Jiangsu province. It said the Chinese boat carried 20 fishermen and was registered to the Jiangsu Fisheries Corp. The report said the Foreign Ministry ``reserves the right for further representation.'' Russell said he interpreted that to mean the Chinese might sue the American shipping company if an investigation supported their version of events. He said he did not expect any political repercussions.
