Search for missing Taiwanese crew continues
Taiwanese tuna longliner, Yong Yu Sing No.18, lost contact with her owners in late December.
Search and rescue services are continuing their search for the 10 missing crew members of a Taiwanese fishing vessel. The Yong Su Sing No.18 lost contact with her owners in late December as a major storm approached her area of operations. Her last reported AIS position showed her 530 nm NE off Midway Atoll. No distress call was received.
A USCG HC-130 Hercules located the apparently abandoned vessel on 2nd January. One liferaft was missing and the wheelhouse was damaged. No crew were spotted from the air and the aircraft returned to base after taking imagery of the vessel.
The US Navy, USCG, several Taiwanese fishing vessels and the M/V OOCL Tokyo are currently involved in the search and are being coordinated by Taiwan’s Rescue Coordination Centre Taipei. Two Hercules long-range SAR planes and a US Navy P-8 Poseidon patrol plane were due to search the area on Friday.
