The New Star incident was an event that occurred near the eastern port city of Vladivostok, when a Russian warship fired on a Chinese cargo vessel called the New Star.[1] The cargo ship was sunk on February 15, 2009, with Russia and China presenting different stories regarding the incident.
The New Star (新星 Xīnxīng) was a 5000-ton ship leased by a company based in Hong Kong.[2] There were 16 crew members, 6 Indonesian and 10 Chinese citizens. The vessel was owned by Tongyu Shipping Zhejiang (浙江通宇船務有限公司) and leased to the Hong Kong based J-Rui Lucky shipping company (香港吉瑞祥（香港）有限公司 Xiānggǎng jí ruìxiáng (Xiānggǎng) yǒuxiàn gōngsī).[3] [4]
The RIA Novosti said crew members attempted to escape in two life-rafts after their ship was sinking. Only half of them were rescued by a Russian vessel. According to Xinhua News Agency, 7 sailors were still missing and only 3 were rescued.