Tokyo  - A South Korean freighter and its crew went missing Tuesday off the central Japanese Izu-Oshima island after it collided with a Panama-registered vessel, Japanese media reports said.

The 4,255-ton Orchid Pia of South Korea and the 10,833-ton Cygnus Ace of Panama collided early Tuesday in the Pacific Ocean, about 120 kilometres south of Tokyo, the Japan Coast Guard said.

The search continued after the coast guard lost contact with the Orchid Pia, which has seven South Korean and nine Indonesian crew members.

The ship, carrying about 5,000 tons of iron coil, was headed to South Korea.

Cygnus Ace, an automobile carrier, reported its damage to the coast guard but said there were no injuries to its 19-member crew of Thai, Burmese and Indonesian nationals.

The vessel was headed from the central Japanese port of Toyohashi to Yokohama port, according to the Jiji Press news agency. (dpa)