Sinking Cattle Boat: Lochie Bellerby’s Family, Missing After Gulf Livestock Sunk, Prepare Private Search

The family of a Southland man missing in the East China Sea criticized the New Zealand government for its lack of support, saying it “has no choice” but to prepare to launch its own rescue plan.

Lochie Bellerby went missing after Gulf Livestock 1, the ship he and fellow New Zealander Scott Harris were working on, sank with 43 people on board during a typhoon on September 2.

In a statement today, family spokeswoman Sue Sherburd said that while the family was “overwhelmed” by donated resources and the support and generosity of individuals, they were “puzzled” by the New Zealand government’s inaction. .

“The Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister say they are doing ‘everything we can do’, but this is not what is happening on the ground or, if so, the family does not know.

“It seems that we have no choice but to be prepared to mount a locally organized private rescue and response plan.”

Yesterday, an independent satellite swept 15 km wide in the area capturing high definition images, he said.

The satellite will pass again today.

“If the satellite search identifies ‘objects of interest’, we remain unclear what Mfat and the government in general plan to do to mobilize quickly.”

Offers of support from interested New Zealand and Australian organizations and individuals who wanted to help advance the search came “quickly and forcefully”.

Satellite organizations, Japanese translators, marine experts, and local Japanese fishing villages had also been searching the shores on their boats.