Grave concerns for missing sailors

There are now grave concerns for three men missing at sea following the sinking of a fishing vessel in the Southern Ocean this morning.

Forty-five survivors were rescued from life rafts this morning after the New Zealand chartered Korean-registered Oyang 70 sunk approximately 400 nautical miles east of Dunedin about 4.40am today.

The bodies of three Indonesian crew were subsequently recovered, but three men, including the ship’s Korean Master, remain missing.

Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ) Search and Rescue Mission Coordinator Mike Roberts said there were now grave concerns for the three men, given the number of hours that had elapsed since the sinking.

A Royal New Zealand Airforce P3 Orion had completely covered a search area determined by RCCNZ and found no trace of the vessel’s sixth and final life raft.

“It would appear the three remaining men must have been in the water since the early hours of this morning,” Mr Roberts said.

“The chances of surviving that length of time in water temperatures of around 7 degrees are slim.”

“However, we are continuing to search the area, to ensure we have not missed anything or anyone.”

RCCNZ would review the search later this afternoon.

RCCNZ initiated the search after receiving an alert from the vessel’s Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) at 4.40am. The 82m trawler had 51 foreign crew – from Korea, Indonesia, the Philippines and China – on board.

The EPIRB alert was followed shortly after by a mayday call from the same position, approximately 400 nautical miles east of Dunedin, relayed by the fishing vessel the Amaltal Atlantis, which reported that the Oyang 70 had sunk.

Mr Roberts said the Amaltal Atlantis would transport the survivors to Christchurch once the search was concluded.

Further information will be provided as it comes to hand.

ENDS

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