Korean consul general reviews Bering Sea search efforts

Rear Admiral Daniel Abel, commanding office of the U.S. Coast Guard's 17th District, provides an update on efforts in the Bering Sea to find the missing crew of Oryong 501 as Moon Duk-Ho, Republic of Korea Consul General to Seattle, listens. (Photo by Matt Miller/KTOO)
Rear Adm. Daniel Abel, commanding officer of the U.S. Coast Guard’s 17th District, provides an update on Thursday on efforts in the Bering Sea to find the missing crew of Oryong 501 as Moon Duk-Ho, Republic of Korea Consul General to Seattle, listens. (Photo by Matt Miller/KTOO)

A representative of the Korean government says they appreciate the U.S. Coast Guard’s support in their search for crewmembers still missing from a sunken fishing boat.

The Oryong 501 with 60 people aboard sank in the western Bering Sea on Nov. 30. Seven crewmembers survived the sinking, 27 bodies have been recovered and 26 crewmembers are still missing.

The Republic of Korea’s consul general in Seattle, Moon Duk-Ho, arrived in Juneau on Wednesday evening to meet with U.S. Coast Guard officials.

“The reason why I am here is that my government asked me to come to visit your Coast Guard headquarters here, 17th District, so to meet Admiral Abel and to convey my government’s message to continue our Alaskan search efforts here,” said Moon. “And also, we are very content on the good characty of U.S. Coast Guard’s cooperation.”

Moon, his deputy, and an aide toured the Coast Guard Command Center in the downtown federal building before meeting with reporters Thursday.

“I would like to thank the U.S. government and the U.S. Coast Guard for their generous support and continued cooperation with our people,” Moon said. “This is just a very unhappy instant. But we need to double our efforts to continue our Alaska search plan.”

Moon Duk-Ho, Republic of Korea Consul General to Seattle (Photo by Matt Miller/KTOO)
Moon Duk-Ho, Republic of Korea Consul General to Seattle (Photo by Matt Miller/KTOO)

Rear Adm. Daniel Abel, commander of the U.S. Coast Guard in Alaska, said search conditions improved on Thursday with 5 mile visibility and 5 foot seas.

The Korean vessel Sambong is expected to join the Coast Guard cutter Alex Haley on scene on Friday, a day earlier than planned.

Moon says they’re committed to the search for the missing crew of a sunken fishing boat.

“So, to us, this is another beginning of search and rescue effort,” Moon said. “But I’m not in a position to say to you very definitely how long we continue with our rescue and search effort there. But I think that we are continuing more weeks, not in more days.”

Two Korean P-3 patrol aircraft are flying out of Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson because of the shorter distance to the sinking site. Two U.S. Coast Guard search and rescue planners from Juneau were dispatched to the Anchorage base to assist the Koreans with the operation.

Abel said location of the sinking is also marked with a self-locating data marker buoy which moves with the wind and current, and helps searchers focus on the right area.

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