Following the incident of the Gulf Livestock 1 vessel which led to missing seafarers, the ship’s owners, managers, and manning agents joined the calls to resume the search and rescue operation.
The families and relatives of the 40 missing crewmembers plead the governement to continue the search and rescue operations.
Now, responding to the pleas, Gulf Navigation issued a statement acknowledging the family members, calling for the search efforts to resume, and outlining steps it was taking to support the efforts.
People are using social media to highlight the incident and find a solution, while more than 56,000 people signed a Change.org petition calling for the search to resume and over 500 people have donated over $60,000 on a GoFundMe page organized by the families.
Using independent marine exports hired by one of the families in New Zealand, they are calling for the search to explore an area 35 nautical miles east-north-east, including a series of smaller, uninhabited islands. They also point to the fact that one lifeboat and four inflatable rafts were not located by the initial search and rescue mission.
Gulf Navigation’s statement notes that
Aware of the deep concern and determination of the families of those missing. (They) have reached out urgently to the Japanese Coast Guard and nation states bordering the South China Sea, to resume the search and rescue operation. This search to specifically include the many small uninhabited islands where relatives believe their loved ones might have reached during the severe storm.
The company added that the requests had been presented to the UAE Government, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, asking for their support in reiterating the requests to continue with the search to the Japanese, Chinese and Korean governments via their embassies. A general alert has also gone out to all ships, including fishing vessels, passing through the region Gulf Navigation reported.
