At first it seemed like any ordinary journey as the Bulk Jupiter sailed from the port town of Kuantan on Malaysia’s east coast at 9:24 pm on December 30, 2014, bound for Qingao in China, a central route for dry bulk carriers transporting bauxite to Chinese aluminum smelters.

The crew celebrated the New Year, and after two days at sea the ship entered the verge of a tropical storm on 2 January 2015. This is not unusual for this part of the world or this part of the year, and Bulk Jupiter had previously been advised by the weather service FleetWeather, who had offered several alternative routes to avoid the worst of the storm.