A PRIVATE boat lost in waters off Nan'ao in Longgang District was found Monday after being missing for 16 hours, yesterday's Daily Sunshine reported.

The marine division of Shenzhen border police in Longgang received a report late Sunday night, saying contact with a private boat had been lost five hours after it set out for Sanmen Island in Huizhou to pick up tourists, the Daily report said.

A task force of five border police officers were sent to search for the missing boat in heavy fog that hampered the operation. "Visibility at sea was extremely low that day and the time of day made it harder," said an officer, who was not named in the Daily report.

After searching unsuccessfully throughout the night, the task force reported the missing boat to the Shenzhen Maritime Safety Administration. The administration deployed the global positioning system (GPS) to locate the missing vessel.

The boat was eventually located in waters off Hong Kong's Nine Pin Island. Those on board, including the boat owner, known only by his last name Chen, and a number of tourists were safe. But the report did not give an exact number of the tourists onboard.

Chen said he lost direction soon after setting off from Nan'ao port because of the heavy fog. "There is no navigation equipment on the boat and the fuel was soon used up. I had wanted to call for help but the mobile reception was bad," he said.