Gulf Livestock 1 Lost at Sea: Disconsolate Parents of Missing Kiwis Urge Officials to Continue Search

The parents of two missing kiwi farmers who disappeared from a cattle boat in Japanese waters are begging the government not to surrender.

Lochie Bellerby and Scott Harris are among 40 crew members who are missing after the Gulf Livestock 1 sank in the East China Sea during typhoon conditions last week.

Only three survivors have been found, one of whom died later; Japanese authorities suspended the full-time search this week as they had not found anyone since last week.

However, a maritime expert has given the Bellerby and Scott families hope that they may still be alive in an area not covered by the Coast Guard, 1 News reported.

“We’re in a really critical phase in terms of timing here because any of the 40 crew members who are still missing could be on rafts or on an island and they really need our help,” said Lucy Bellerby, Lochie’s mother.

Both kiwis were in constant contact with their parents during the trip.

Her son told Lucy Bellerby that conditions were “extremely harsh” and the boat was tilted 35 degrees.

Harris’s mother, Karen Adrian, said he texted her frequently and the surf was between 12 and 20 feet at times during the typhoon.

“We are doing our best to get some action and hold out; they can survive this, they can,” he said.

“They are strong young men, if anyone can do it, those guys can do it.”

Elsewhere, the family of Australian Lukas Orda has also urged the Australian government not to give up the search for their son.

A Queensland vet, Orda is one of the two Australians, the other is Will Mainprize from New South Wales, who is also missing.

Ulrich Orda thanked the government for its support, but called for the search efforts to continue, AAP reported.

The 11,947-ton ship, its 43 crew and 5,800 cows left Napier in mid-August, bound for Tangshan on the east coast of China.

He sent out a distress signal at 4.45am (NZT) on Wednesday, September 2, reporting an engine failure. Typhoon Maysak was blowing through southern Japan at the time of the incident.

The ship’s automatic tracker showed it sailing in high winds of 58 knots (107 km / h) at its last known position, according to the ship-tracking website MarineTraffic.com.

Japanese rescue teams have so far found three survivors: two Filipinos and a third person who was unconscious when recovered by rescue teams but later died.

CEO Edvardo Sareno, who was rescued last Wednesday, said the ship stalled when an engine stalled, then capsized after being hit by a powerful wave and sank.