U.S. Coast Guardsmen assigned to USCGC Frederick Hatch support as a parajumper assigned to the U.S. Air Force 31st Rescue Squadron enters the water near a capsized cargo vessel northeast of Pagan in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, April 19, 2026 (U.S. Coast Guard)
The U.S. Coast Guard has called off the search for five crew members lost at sea in the Northern Mariana Islands during Super Typhoon Sinlaku in mid-April.
The search began after the Mariana, a 145-foot, U.S-flagged dry cargo vessel with a crew of six, called the Coast Guard on April 15 to report a disabled starboard engine, according to U.S. Coast Guard Cmdr. Preston Hieb, a search and rescue mission coordinator.
The search ended Wednesday, more than two weeks later, Hieb said in a 2½-minute-long video posted on the Coast Guard Oceania District, Honolulu, Facebook page that evening.
“Despite widespread efforts we have made the difficult decision to suspend our search for the missing crew members of the Mariana,” Hieb said. “We offer our heartfelt condolences to the families of the Mariana crew as well as the entire Saipan community.”
The Coast Guard identified the crew as Frederick L. Nosek Jr., Landon Delos Reyes, Jose L. Ramirez, Mohammed A. Rahaman, Chet R. Brochon and Vincent B. Agulto.
The slow-moving Sinlaku missed Guam by about 100 miles but made landfall April 15 on Tinian with maximum sustained winds of 145 mph and heavy rain. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center warned of open ocean waves of 42 feet.
The Coast Guard established hourly communication checks with the boat but lost contact with the crew later April 15, he said. A C-130 Hercules launched from Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point, Hawaii, and the Coast Guard cutter Frederick Hatch was dispatched to search for the missing vessel and crew.
The cutter Oliver Henry later joined the search, according to Hieb.
On the morning of April 17, a Coast Guard plane sighted an overturned vessel – later identified as the Mariana – approximately 45 miles northeast of Pagan, an island about 200 miles north of Saipan.
Two days later, the U.S. Air Force’s 31st Rescue Squadron from Okinawa arrived at the overturned vessel with pararescuemen, divers and boats, according to Hieb. Divers recovered one body from the Mariana on April 20.
In total, Coast Guard crews and military teams searched for over 100 hours, covering over 177,000 square miles, an area larger than California, he said. The U.S. Navy, New Zealand air force and Japan coast guard also assisted in the search.
Hieb offered condolences to the families and friends of the missing, and the Saipan community.
“The decision to suspend a search is an incredibly difficult one that is only made after very careful consideration of all available information,” he said in the video. “From working and communicating with the families, I know how devastated they are by this outcome.”
