Adventurous Southland man aboard a missing cattle exporting ship

A Southland man described as “a high-level guy who wanted to see the world” was aboard the now-missing cattle boat in typhoon-hit waters off southwest Japan.

Lochie Bellerby of Te Anau has been named as one of two New Zealanders on the Gulf Livestock 1, which has now disappeared, allegedly sunk, in stormy weather last Wednesday.

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

It sent a distress signal at 4.45am (NZT) on Wednesday, reporting an engine failure, but has yet to be located.

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 Wednesday night, said the ship stalled when an engine stopped, then capsized after being hit by a powerful wave and sank.

Bellerby, in his early 20s, has been described by a former manager as an “adventurous” and hard-working man.

Pastor at Tangihau station in 2013, a former manager remembers him as a “superior guy” and a hard worker.

“He was very adventurous, he wanted to see the world,” he said.

It was a shock to hear that Bellerby had been aboard the unfortunate ship, he said.

A Maritime NZ spokeswoman previously said that the Gulf Livestock 1 was checked before leaving Napier and there was nothing to suggest that the ship was not in good condition when it left port.

Rescuers found traces of fuel on the sea surface in the area on Friday, a sign of the ship’s submergence.

Dozens of cow carcasses have also been seen floating in the area.

The Japanese Coast Guard has conducted a major air and sea search for the vessel or any crew member, involving three Coast Guard vessels, five aircraft and specially trained divers who participated in the search and rescue mission.

But search efforts by the remaining crew members came to a halt over the weekend when Typhoon Haishen swept through the area.

Japan’s meteorological agency has warned that the storm could be the third largest to hit the country since records began nearly 70 years ago.

Queensland vet Lukas Orda, who is married with a six-month-old son, has been named as one of the Australians aboard the missing freighter.

Orda studied at James Cook University and worked at the Gold Coast Equine Clinic before joining the livestock export ship as a veterinary officer in June.

The vet’s last post was on June 24th and he wrote: “And the first 20-day leg of my trip begins …”

It was accompanied by a map showing it was traveling to Yantai, China, from the port of Portland in Victoria.