WOODCHIP carrier Southern Ace rescued a woman in distress at sea near the Philippines on 5 July during a voyage from Albany, Australia to Niigata, Japan.

The crew of the vessel, operated by NYK, spotted the woman at about 1745 local time.

After notifying the Philippine Coast Guard, Southern Ace rescued the person and handed her over to the coast guard at 2100 on the same day, according to a statement from NYK.

According to AIS data, the ship is due to arrive at Niigata on Friday, 14 July. It departed Albany on 25 June.

Southern Ace is a Japanese-flagged woodchip carrier.

It is 209.96 metres long (LOA) and has a carrying capacity of about 4.3 million cubic feet, or 60,222 tonnes DWT.