[ad_1]
The captain of Gulf Livestock 1 texted his partner saying he was praying in the moments leading up to the ship capsizing, after it entered a powerful typhoon.
Only two of the ship’s 43 crew have been rescued so far after it sank in the East China Sea last Tuesday, carrying two New Zealanders, who are still missing, and nearly 6,000 live cows.
The ship’s captain, Dante Addug, sent a message to his partner in the hours before the capsize, saying he was scared and praying the typhoon would pass, Reuters reported.
The father of four told his partner Marielle June Chunanon that the typhoon had intensified and the water had caused an engine failure.
READ MORE:
* The family of the missing Southland man in an overturned cattle boat hope he is still alive
* Gulf Livestock 1: Mother of Man Missing After Cattle Ship Wrecked Wants Government Answers
* One of the New Zealanders missing in a capsized cattle boat is from Southland
“The typhoon is so strong so far. Here I am praying for the typhoon to stop. “
Addug had been aboard the ship since November last year and was due to return home next month to reunite with his family and meet his 4-month-old son for the first time.
A new analysis from global satellite analysis firm Windward tracked the voyage of the Panama-registered ship, which revealed that it sailed directly into the eye of Typhoon Maysak, Forbes reported.
After leaving Napier port on August 14, the planned 17-day voyage was expected to end at Jingtang in Tangshan, China.
Graham Flett / AP
The 11,947 tonne Gulf Livestock 1 freighter sails through Port Phillip bound for the Bass Victoria Strait in Australia last year.
After passing the Japanese islands of Okinoerabujma, the ship struggled and stopped transmitting, before issuing a distress signal at 1.40am on September 2 Japanese time.
When Windward was able to superimpose wind and wave height for the final voyage of the Gulf Livestock, it soon became clear that it was heading directly into the eye of Typhoon Maysak, a Category 4 storm, with estimated wind speeds of more than 233 km / h.
Maysak has been labeled the most powerful typhoon of 2020 to date.
JAPAN COAST GUARD
A damaged Gulf Livestock 1 lifeboat, found by the Japanese Coast Guard 4 km east of Kodakara Island at 1611 (Japan Standard Time) on September 4.
However, another typhoon in the region, Typhoon Haishen, is currently hitting the southwestern region of Japan, suspending rescue efforts for the crew and causing more than 1.6 million Japanese to evacuate their homes.
Two Filipino crew members have been rescued so far, one on Wednesday and one on Friday, who were found in a life raft.
JAPAN COAST GUARD
A Filipino crew member of a Panamanian freighter is rescued by members of the Japanese Coast Guard.
An unidentified man pulled unconscious from the water on Friday later died.
According to a rescued crew member, the missing ship came to a halt when an engine stalled, then capsized and sank after being hit by a powerful wave during stormy weather.
Lochie Bellerby, from Southland, and father of two Scott Harris, 37, who worked as a herd manager, were both New Zealanders on board.
On Monday, a spokeswoman for the Bellerby family said her family still hoped he was alive.
Harris’s mother, Karen Adrian, told Radio NZ that they hadn’t given up hope of finding him alive either, but time is passing and she wants the government to help her with search and rescue efforts.
