Three sailors have been rescued, and one of them has died, according to the Coast Guard.
Rescue operations were suspended Saturday afternoon, according to local time, and another hurricane – a powerful typhoon – is expected to slam the area on Sunday. The resumption of the mission will depend on the weather conditions.
On Friday, a man was found floating in a life raft two kilometers from Kodakara Island – a third was found.
The 30-year-old Filipino, identified as Jay-Nell Rosals, was found two kilometers (1.2 miles) off Kodakara Island on Friday afternoon, the Coast Guard said. He was taken to the hospital, and he is alive, walking and talking, he added.
The lone Filipino sailor was rescued in the water late Wednesday night after half a day. He was in good health, the Coast Guard said.
Another member of the crew was found unconscious near Japan on Friday morning Amaimi Oshima Island, the route between Okinawa and Kyushu, the main island in the south of Japan. He was taken to a hospital, according to a Coast Guard statement sent to CNN, but a later Coast Guard statement said he had died.
Just after 4pm local time on Friday – the same time Rossells was located – rescuers found an empty lifeboat on the sea about four kilometers east of Kodakara Island. The Japanese Coast Guard also said it had found a spray of oil two kilometers and a hundred kilometers from Amami Oshima Island.
On Friday, the Coast Guard also found the body of a cow near Amami Oshima Island.
The 133.6-meter-long (438-foot) ship, built by 13 Filipinos, two New Zealanders and two Austral Australians, sailed to Tangshan, Napier, New Zealand, China, according to officials from Japan, New Zealand and Australia Australia.
According to the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Panamanian-flagged ship left New Zealand on August 14 with cargo of more than 5,800 cows.
Another hurricane in the region, Typhoon Hashen, is expected to strengthen by the end of the week, equivalent to a Class 4 hurricane. On Sunday it is likely to threaten Kyushu, and on Monday it will potentially affect the Korean Peninsula.
The Japan Meteorological Agency is warning that the hurricane could be the third largest to hit the country since records began nearly 70 years ago.
A New Zealand animal rights group says the Gulf Livestock 1 incident explains why the export of live animals should not be allowed.
“These cows should never be at sea. To make matters worse, they are all likely to be pregnant,” said Marianne McDonald, campaign manager for animal rights group Safe NZ.
“This is a real crisis, and our thoughts are with the families of the 43 crew missing from the ship. But questions remain, including why this trade is allowed to continue.” Madkadonade said in a statement.
CNN’s Angus Watson, Eric Cheng, Junko Ogura and Thornton Chandler contributed to the report.
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