US, Philippine Coast Guards join search for missing Taiwanese fishing vessel

The Coast Guards of the United States and the Philippines have joined a search and rescue (SAR) effort led by the Taiwan Coast Guard Administration (TCGA) to attempt to locate a Taiwanese fishing vessel that disappeared off Palau earlier this month.

The SAR operation will seek to locate any trace of the tuna longliner Sheng Feng No 128, which was last monitored some 414 nautical miles northwest of Palau on February 17.

The Philippine Coast Guard has deployed a surveillance aircraft to patrol the area off the Eastern Visayas and Bicol regions. This is in anticipation of the possibility of the missing vessel drifting towards the Philippines’ eastern seaboard.

The US Coast Guard also contributed an aircraft to the SAR effort while vessels participating in the operation include two TCGA cutters and some Good Samaritan fishing boats.

Sheng Feng No 128 was crewed by one Taiwanese and five Indonesian nationals at the time of its disappearance.