The sailor was part of the crew on the Dubrovnik’s company Atlantska plovidba ship “Miho Pracat”. The company reported yesterday that early on Saturday morning they noticed a member of the crew was missing. The ship was in the Japanese territorial waters at the moment of the disappearance, while going from a Russian port Shakhtyorsk on the Sahalin island to China. As soon as the disappearance was noticed, the ship was turned around and the search of the entire area of the ship was started, with hopes that the crew member would be found onboard. Unfortunately, that search was unsuccessful. So was the search, started according to the set international procedures, in the sea, managed by the Search and Rescue Centre (MRCC) from Vladivostok. The search and rescue operation on the sea included the crew of the Atlantska plovidba ship, one airplane, one specialized search and rescue vessel and one fishing boat which happened to be near the location where the event took place.
Večernji list reports that Sanja Putica, manager of the investor and public relations for Atlantska plovidba reported on Sunday that the Search and Rescue Centre from Vladivostok decided to abandon the operation which hoped to find the missing Croatian sailor. The sea temperature in the area was around 15°C, and the international guidelines direct the search-and-rescue missions in such circumstances to be stopped after 25 hours. The company expressed their condolences to their employee’s family and those close to him. The ship continued along its planned route towards the destination port.
