A 145' cargo vessel with six people aboard has gone missing north of Saipan in the Western Pacific after suffering mechanical failure and then losing contact with the U.S. Coast Guard, officials said Friday.
The U.S.-registered Mariana, described by the Coast Guard as a "dry cargo vessel," was reported to be approximately 140 miles north-northwest of Saipan on Wednesday after its starboard engine failed.
The vessel's manager notified Joint Rescue Coordination Center Honolulu, which established hourly radio contact with the ship. No medical emergencies were reported at the time.
Contact with the Mariana was lost Wednesday evening and has not been reestablished, the Coast Guard said.
A Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules aircraft launched from Air Station Barbers Point on Thursday to search for the vessel but was forced to turn back to Guam due to heavy winds in the search area brought on by Super Typhoon Sinlaku.
A follow-up aerial search is scheduled for first light Saturday morning, Guam Standard Time. The Mariana's last known position remains approximately 140 miles north of Saipan.
On Saturday Joint Rescue Coordination Center Honolulu watchstanders confirmed that an overturned vessel sighted by a Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point HC-130 Hercules airplane crew during a first-light search matched the description of the Mariana.
The overturned vessel was sighted by the airplane crew about 34 nautical miles northeast of Pagan, approximately 100 nautical miles northeast of the Mariana's last known position.
Coast Guard aircrews, a Navy Boeing P-8A Poseidon crew, and a Japan Coast Guard aircrew are to fly in support of continued search efforts. The crew of Coast Guard cutter Frederick Hatch and the crew of a Japan Coast Guard vessel equipped with a specialized dive team will also join the search.
Sinlaku was a rare, exceptionally early-season Category 5 storm that struck the Northern Mariana Islands on Wednesday, battering Saipan and Tinian with sustained winds of around 175 mph, knocking out power and causing widespread damage.
