Manna issue 69 - Miraculous Escape from Shipwreck 船難求生記
Relying on God’s promise of deliverance.
依靠神拯救的應許
C.G. Chen—Taiwan
Adapted from Holy Spirit Monthly—Issue 423
節錄自聖靈月刊 423 期
台灣 陳長貴
Hallelujah, in the name of Jesus
Christ, I bear this testimony. On March
19, 2012, at 2:42 a.m., gravel ship
Haixiang 8 set off towards Hualien
Harbor, carrying about 4700 tons
of earth and a total of fifteen crew
members.
哈利路亞，奉主耶穌聖名作見證：
2012年3月19日凌晨2點42分，砂石船海翔8號載運約4700噸的土方前往花蓮港；本船船員計16名，
其中一名輪機長因感冒請假，所以出港船員共15名。
I worked as a helmsman on board.
That night, I was on duty from 12:00
midnight to 4:00 a.m. At about 3:45
a.m., the next crew member (who
happened to be my cousin) took over.
Before I handed over my shift duties,
the captain specifically reminded me to
pay attention to the tilt angle on the
right side of the ship.
我的職務是舵工，
當班時間是午夜12點到凌晨4點，
約3點45分我就交班給表哥曾他里弟兄（屬正濱教會）。
猶記交班前，船長特別叮嚀我注意船右方傾斜，
After returning to the bedroom
from the cockpit, I prayed and went
to bed. Somehow I was filled with a
foreboding and dared not fall asleep.
Unexpectedly, about half an hour later,
I heard the captain’s announcement:
“Attention all crew, wear your life
jackets and report to the cockpit to
receive further instructions!” The
captain also told my cousin to rush to
every bedroom to wake up all the crew
members. The crew bedrooms were
two to four floors below deck, which
meant all the members were in great
danger.
當時我聽聽就從駕駛艙返回寢室，禱告完畢躺在船上，
但總覺得有股不祥的預感，就不敢睡覺保持清醒。
不料約過半小時，就聽到船長廣播著：「全體同仁，穿上救生衣到駕駛艙待命。」
同時船長緊急叫表哥到各個寢室叫醒每位船員逃命（我們的寢室都在駕駛艙下2-4層）。
也就是說，所有的船圓都面臨很大的危險。
When I heard the radio
announcement, I knew that disaster
had struck. In panic, I hurriedly put on
my diving suit, stuffed some important
documents and a bottle of mineral
water into my pockets, and pulled on
the life jacket as I ran upstairs. It was
then about 4:45 a.m., and the ship had
already tilted fifteen degrees to the
right. Sensing the critical situation, the
captain had already alerted the Port
Authority Coast Guard to summon
help.
當我一聽到廣播就知道有危險，
慌張的穿上潛水衣，抓住重要文件及一瓶礦泉水塞入口袋，
邊跑邊穿上救生衣衝往上頭「逃命」。
當時約4點45分，船已嚴重向右傾斜15度，
船長見狀況危急，稍早已通報港務局海巡署請求支援。
My cousin, who had experienced
shipwreck before, immediately ordered
us to head to the stern (the rear part
of the ship) to escape. Seeing that the
ship was about to capsize, we held tight
to the barrier cables and swayed with
the vessel. The ship was traveling at
seven knots, and it went bow first into
the water. The hull of the ship looked
as though it would also sink in a mere
six seconds. Everything was a stunning
repeat of the sinking of the legendary
Titanic, except that our ship was going
under at an alarming speed.
表哥曾他里弟兄因有海難經驗，立刻命令我們全部往船尾逃命，
慌亂中，大家抓住欄杆隨船搖晃，只見船已快要沉入海中。
當時船速7海里，船頭先下水，爾後船身至船尾只需6秒鐘就會全船沒入海中，
彷彿鐵達尼號沉沒翻版，速度驚人。
Just before the ship sank, my
cousin shouted: “Jump! Jump!” and
disappeared as he leapt into the water.
As I was about to jump, the front
cable came loose and dangled down.
I hesitated and waited for the cable
to detach completely for fear of being
entangled by the cable. Once the cable
was completely detached, I released my
grip on it and jumped into the water
shouting: “Hallelujah, Lord! Save me!”
就在船快要沉沒當前，表哥叫喊：「跳水！跳水！」就一躍入水不見人影；
我也正想要跳水，忽見前面纜繩鬆脫呈一直線飄搖，我怕被纜繩纏住，遲疑一下，
等它完全鬆脫飄走，就在船尾接觸水面剎那間放手，
高喊「哈利路亞，主啊！救我！」
When I entered the water, a
powerful wave of water swept me far
away from the sinking bow of the ship.
Before I knew it, I was just next to my
cousin. When I touched his shoulder,
he turned around and was shocked
to see me. He said: “Are you such a
good swimmer you could catch up with
me so quickly?!” My cousin had been
swimming desperately away from the
ship since hitting the water.
身體落海瞬間，一股強大的水柱將我推開遠離船尾，
使我一下子就碰到表哥的肩膀，表哥轉頭驚訝地對我說：
「你這麼會游泳，一下子就追到我了?!」
因為他先跳水拚命地往外游開已不知有多遠了。
As seamen, we had often heard
veterans explain how a sinking ship
would create a whirlpool effect and
suck everything down with it in a spiral
as it sinks into the ocean. That was
why everyone had been desperately
swimming, trying to get as far away
from the sinking ship as possible.
As my cousin and I turned around,
we saw the lights of the sinking ship
disappear. Almost like a movie scene,
the whole sea was suddenly plunged
into darkness, eerie silence punctuated
only by the sound of waves, gusts of
wind, interspersed with our shipmates’
sorrowful shouts for help.
之前常聽前輩說，船沉入海中會引起漩渦吸入周邊所有東西往下沉，
所以大家跳海就拚了命地游離現場。
我與表哥轉頭一看，親眼目睹沉船景況，猶如電影情節般，
一艘佈滿璀璨燈光的船，一瞬間「碰」一聲巨響，頓時熄燈，
海面突然一片漆黑，同時聽到浪聲、風聲，夾雜其他同事哀喊、呼叫「救命」的聲音。
The temperature of the water was
about ten degrees Celsius; the sea
waves were about four to six meters
high (very rough conditions) while the
wind speed was about sixty to seventy
kilometers per hour (equivalent to a
gale). The water felt bitterly cold. My
cousin and I took out the distress lights
from our life jackets and waved them
about, hoping to attract attention to
ourselves. Not too far away, we spotted
some other distress signals, probably
from some of our shipmates who were
also floating in the sea, struggling to
survive while waiting to be rescued.
Gradually, these intermittent shrill cries
for help became softer. Then it was all
quiet, and we could only hear the sound
of the waves and the raging winds.
My cousin muttered: “Dead!” At this
point, I was both sad and terrified, and
I felt myself trembling helplessly.
當時海水溫度10度上下，海浪5、6級，吹8級風，非常冰冷。
我與表哥拿起救生衣上的求救燈揮舞，希望有人發現我們；
在不遠之處也見著幾盞求救燈，心想同事在附近海面上，
大家都在海中載浮載沉地，掙扎著想要活下去。
不久，依稀聽到持續性的求救聲由淒厲轉為淒涼，
聲音忽大忽小此起彼落，漸漸地微弱、無聲……，只剩下浪聲與風聲在哭號，
表哥說：「掛了！」
此時我既驚恐又害怕，無助地全身顫抖，悲傷一股腦兒湧上心頭。
My cousin and I were wearing
wetsuits, anti-freeze caps and lifejackets,
and all these had temporarily kept us
warm. We redoubled our efforts to
swim farther away from the shipwreck
site, all the while praying, “Dear Lord,
save us!” I thought to myself, “I have
fallen so short of the glory of God,
how can I face Him now?” I pleaded
in my heart, “Dear Lord, give me one
more chance, let me do more work for
You!” I started to sing the hymn “Jesus
Loves Me” over and over, alternating it
with prayers of supplication as I swam
along. I do not remember now how
long this went on.
我與表哥有穿潛水衣、冷凍帽及救生衣，暫時保暖了身體，
努力著再往更遠的方向游，邊游邊禱告，呼叫「主啊！救我！」
心想我虧欠主甚多，如何見主？
「主啊！再給我機會，多做主工。」
接著就唱詩〈主耶穌愛我〉，反覆唱、反覆禱告，不知有多久。
I was so cold and scared; I could feel
my lips trembling and my teeth rattling.
So I shouted out the hymn “Lead me,
lead me, Savior, lead me, lest I stray;
gently down the stream of time…Lead
me, Savior, all the way.”
或許又冷又害怕，嘴唇及牙齒顫抖的咯咯聲我都聽得到；
再用力唱詩198首：「主啊！主啊！世上風浪真可怕！求?領我不走差……。」
Then, something miraculous
happened—a strong wave swept
toward us a plank of wood about forty-five
centimeter wide, two hundred
fifty centimeter long, and about five
centimeter thick. Since I had no energy
left to swim towards it, I asked my
cousin to swim and grab the piece of
wood. Both of us then gripped the
plank on both sides with our left arms.
This helped us to stay afloat without
too much effort, and we could finally
relax a little. We continued to pray
and sing hymns, and, in our hearts, we
were jumping for joy and thankfulness
to the Lord Jesus.
奇妙的事發生了！一陣大浪打來，漂來一塊木板約有寬45公分、長250公分、厚度5公分，
我因無力再游，就請表哥游去抓住木板，
我們就前後位置用左手臂夾住，身體因此得以暫時放鬆漂浮後，
再繼續禱告、唱詩，心存歡呼感謝主！
About fifteen minutes later, another
wave swept over an identical plank
of wood, and once again, my cousin
retrieved the plank, and we used
two instead of one piece of wood for
improved stability. At that moment,
our distress lights stopped working. We
were not sure how long we would have
to wait before someone discovered
us. So to conserve energy, we did
not attempt to swim anymore, but
simply let our bodies float in the water,
swaying with the waves.
又過了15分鐘，同樣一陣大浪打來，再出現一塊一模一樣的板子在不遠處，
表哥同樣游去將板子拖過來，
我們就將兩塊板子併起來，一樣一前一後用左手臂挾住板子。這樣穩定度更好，
比較不會漂來漂去，就只是手臂會累而已。
此時，手邊的救生燈已完全不亮了，也不知還要等多久才會有人發現我們，
體能愈來愈疲倦，心想不能再這樣游下去，
需保持體力，於是全身漂浮，任憑海浪盪來盪去。
Again I prayed earnestly: “Dear
Lord, save us, save us!” I thought of
the divine work to be done. Then, after
about twenty minutes, another wave
brought along a long bench, floating
inverted with its legs in the air. Since it
was not far from us, I urged my cousin
to go grab it for us. When we put the
two wooden planks perpendicular to
the long bench in between the legs of
the bench, the bench suddenly flipped
into an upright position. Amazingly, the
two planks remained firmly in place.
We quickly “sat” astride the bench. In
this way, though our bodies were still
immersed in water, our heads were
above water and we did not have to
risk swallowing more seawater.
我再度用心用力禱告：「主啊！救我救我！」
心中浮出更多聖工要做。
又過了約20分鐘，一陣大浪打來，這回漂來一張大的長板凳，
四腳朝天載浮載沉在我們面前不遠處，我叫喊表哥快去抓過來，就將二塊板子橫放在椅腳之間，
奇妙的是，板凳瞬間自動翻正，而那兩塊板子竟平穩穩地卡在椅腳。
我們迅速跨坐上去，用兩腳挾住椅子，雖然頸部以下仍泡在水裡，
但頭部因此可以浮出水面，不致吸入海水。
After more than an hour, a shimmer
of light appeared in the horizon, and
the sky started to brighten. We could
see the surroundings, and saw that the
sea was a dense mass of grease. My
cousin said: “When a ship sinks, all the
oil and grease will surface to the top.”
Indeed, this was true for us; we let out
a sigh of shock when we saw that our
hands and necks were all covered with
black oil.
就這樣經過了一個多小時，天色漸漸露出微光，
我們才看清楚整片海面都是黑壓壓的油漬，
表哥說：「船沉入海中所有的油漬會全部浮出海面。」
的確，此時我們才驚呼雙手、頸部都沾滿了黑油。
Soon, the sky had completely
brightened. Suddenly we saw a freighter
in front of us—Asia Cement No. 3 had
come to render help after the distress
signals were dispatched. Hope gave us
new strength—we waved, shouted for
help, and swam energetically towards
the freighter. Finally, the crew aboard
Asia Cement No. 3 spotted us and
threw us life buoys. But the current
was too strong, and we could not grab
hold of the life buoys. Asia Cement
No. 3 then tried to approach us stern
side, but the rotation of the rear blades
formed strong currents and carried us
even farther away from the freight.
However, this also meant that the black
oil was effectively dispersed from the
water around us. Once the freighter
realized this difficulty, it decided to
remain stationary. Thank God, at this
time, although we were still bobbing in
the water, the sea around us had been
rid of the black oil and grease, so we
did not inhale any more toxic fumes.
天色更亮了，
突然看到前面有一艘貨輪──亞泥3號，
因接獲通報前來找尋落海船員。
我與表哥充滿希望地用力揮手喊叫求救，賣力地游往船艘，
終於亞泥3號發現我們，並拋下救生圈。
無奈海流太強未能抓住救生圈，亞泥3號又試圖由船尾緩緩靠近我們，
但是車葉（螺旋槳）轉動滾滾海水，形成強大的波浪，不
僅撥開了海面油漬，也拉開了我們跟船的距離，使我們更難以靠近。
亞泥3號因發現救援困難，就原地不動等待。
感謝神，此時雖泡在海中，
但我們四周的海面全是清澈乾淨的，一點油漬都沒有，所以沒有吸入更多的油。
Finally, at 6:13 a.m., the coast guard
rescued my cousin and me. Our hearts
were full of praise and thanksgiving to
the Lord. As it turned out, we were the
first crew members to be rescued. The
Lord Jesus had preserved us, so we could
respond to the questions posed by the
examining doctors. We went through
X-rays, electrocardiogram, blood tests,
and blood pressure monitoring. The
blood pressure actually soared to two
hundred millimeter mercury, but the
doctor reassured us and said it was due
to the state of fear we had been in, so
there was nothing to worry about. After
a series of thorough checks, we were
diagnosed with aspiration pneumonia.
直到6點13分，海巡隊接獲通報前來拋下救生圈，將我與表哥救起，並用厚厚的棉被裹身保暖；
這一刻，我在心中不斷地感謝主。
當時我們是第一批被救起的船員，報章媒體都登載我們的照片。
在海中時，表哥目睹船上大廚面朝下趴在水面上載浮，到了醫院才知他已失溫斷氣。
我們蒙主保守，急診時仍能清醒地回應醫生的問答。
照X光、心電圖、抽血、量血壓，血壓竟飆到200mmHg，
醫生說那是受驚的狀態，叫我們不用擔心，要放寬心。
在一連串的檢查之後，我們被診斷為「吸入性肺炎」。
As for the other crew members, our
captain died from hypothermia, while a
few of our colleagues who were rescued
had to be treated in the intensive care
unit. The final tally revealed that, out
of fifteen crew members, seven were
rescued, six died, and two were still
missing.
而幾個獲救的同事到醫院時，乃全身浮腫，又因吸入過多海水與油漬，緊急被送入加護病房治療。
我們15人出港，獲救7人，死亡6人，2人失蹤。
During our hospitalization, my
cousin and I received much care
and prayer support from Zheng Bin
church. May the Lord Jesus remember
their love. I also thank the Lord for
somehow arranging for my cousin to
be on the same ship with me, for the
instruction to run to the stern during
the emergency and for providing me
with earlier opportunities to work
at sea. The latter had taught me to
take precautionary measures during
shipwrecks, e.g. putting on a wetsuit,
taking along mineral water, and
keeping a life jacket by my bed so that
it would be ready to be grabbed at a
moment’s notice.
在醫院過不多時，大批媒體前來採訪、詢問過程，電視不斷反覆報導沉船事件，
我每看到、講述一次仍然驚恐害怕，不知如何表達心境，感受五味雜陳。
親朋好友陸續來探訪、問候，稍覺舒服安慰。大家在病房禱告，
感覺有主真好。下午兒子、女兒聞訊而來，帶了好多咖啡飲料猛灌我喝，
到晚上大家離開之後，我下腹開始疼痛而整夜腹瀉不止。
隔天妹妹來電詢問為何不接電話，我因睡眠不足向她抱怨腹瀉情形，
她卻說：「感謝主！這樣子是排毒，助益排去體內海水與油漬。」
我才恍然大悟，神的愛莫測高深，再次搭救我！
「我拿什麼報答耶和華向我所賜的一切厚恩？我要以感謝為祭獻給?，又要求告耶和華的名。」
（詩一一六12、17）
住院期間感謝正濱教會同靈關心代禱，求主記念您們的愛心。
更感謝主安排表哥與我同船，切實教導我要為海難防患，
準備潛水衣、礦泉水，救生衣要放在床頭明顯易取之處，海難時要往船尾跑等等……。
While we were waiting to be rescued,
my cousin and I had drunk mineral
water to replenish water in our body.
To keep ourselves calm, we sang and
prayed together, relying on the promise
that God would deliver us. This greatly
helped us to overcome the extreme
cold and fear and to survive the dark
and long night.
在等待救援期間，我們喝下礦泉水補充水分，
穩定心情，一同唱詩禱告倚靠神，抓住神必拯救的信心，
度過冰冷、害怕、驚恐萬分的漫漫長夜。
Praise the Lord! I was sixty-two
years old when the disaster struck, and
without God’s love and care, I could
not have taken only one minute to
wear the diving suit, don the lifejacket,
and run to the cockpit. It took less than
five minutes for the ship to tilt from ten
to fifteen degrees, and then to fortyfive
degrees. In that moment of life and
death, God enabled me to calmly see
the loosening cable and prevented me
from being entangled—what amazing
grace!
感謝主！以我年齡62歲，
從聽到船長廣播集合那刻，穿潛水衣、救生衣到駕駛艙逃命只花一分鐘，
要不是主眷顧，我實在做不到。
船身傾斜由10度變成15度，再變成45度，
下沉速度不到五分鐘，生死一瞬間，神仍然讓我冷靜看見纜繩鬆脫不致纏住，
實在主恩奇妙。
“But we will bless the Lord from this
time forth and forevermore. Praise the
Lord!” (Ps 115:18)
May all glory and honor be unto our
Lord and Savior. Amen!
最後以《詩篇》一一五篇18節共勉：
「但我們要稱頌耶和華，從今時直到永遠。
你們要讚美耶和華！」願一切榮耀尊貴都歸主名下，阿們。
Bro. Chen and his cousin are being rescued.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7TjM_tljinNakYwMUZYamd1cGs/view?usp=sharing
小頁 markvmax@hotmail.com
Manna 嗎哪 56 (1)