Rescue Coordination Center Taipei first reported on New Year’s Eve night that it lost contact with the vessel Yong-Yu-Sing No. 18, the agency said.
When Joint Rescue Coordination Center Honolulu watchstanders tried a number of times to make contact with the vessel without any response, a they sent out a SafetyNet broadcast, reached out to area commercial vessels and deployed an Air Station Barbers Point HC-130 Hercules aircrew to look for the Yong-Yu-Sing No. 18.
Hercules found the vessel and tried to contact the crew but no one responded. Poor weather and low fueled limited Hercules’ ability to further investigate the vessel, but Hercules was able to capture images of the vessel. An analysis of the images showed ship damage and a missing life raft. As many as 10 crew members could have been on the raft, the USCG said.
