MANILA, Philippines — The Japanese coast guard called off its full-time search for a cargo vessel which has been missing for over a week, the Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed.
"The [DFA]....wishes to report that the Japanese Coast Guard has decided to transition from full-time search operations for the crew of the missing vessel Gulf Livestock-1 to its usual patrol arrangements as they have found no trace of the ship since 05 September 2020," the department said Thursday.
"The DFA joins the families and loved ones in continued prayers for the missing seafarers," the statement further read.
So far, two survivors, both of whom are Filipino, have been found by the Japanese coast guard.
One fatality has also been confirmed, the body found on September 4 having been identified as a member of the Filipino crew.
The vessel’s chief officer, identified in reports as 45-year old Filipino Edwardo Sareno, was the first to have been rescued by authorities who responded to the distress call.
Last Friday, the DFA confirmed that a second Filipino crew member was found alive in a life raft from the sunken ship.
The Department of Labor and Employment identified him as Jay-Nel Rosales, 30, a deck crew and a native of Cebu.
The DFA on Saturday said that both survivors have been in touch with their families.
The Panamanian-flagged cargo vessel made a distress call on September 2 from Amami Oshima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture.
DFA the following day confirmed that the vessel was carrying 43 crew members, 39 of whom were Filipino.
A report from Agence France-Presse identified the remaining four crew members as two New Zealanders, an Australian and a Singaporean.
The Japanese coast guard temporarily suspended its search operations over the weekend in light of the expected arrival of a typhoon.
According to the DFA, aerial search operations resumed on Monday.
The Japanese coast guard was expected to resume the full sea and aerial search on Wednesday.