Coast Guard spots overturned vessel near where ship, 6 crew members went missing
A U.S. Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules airplane crew assigned to Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point flies over an overturned vessel offshore Saipan, April 18, 2026. The Coast Guard and partners are searching for a 145-foot missing vessel, the Mariana,
An overturned ship matching the description of the one that went missing along with six crew members earlier this week has been located, the U.S. Coast Guard reported on Saturday.
What we know:
An airplane search team found the vessel about 100 nautical miles northeast of the last known location of the Mariana, a 145-foot cargo vessel registered in the U.S. The ship had suffered an engine failure Wednesday as a massive typhoon headed for the U.S. territory of Saipan and other nearby islands.
The disabled ship was spotted about 34 nautical miles northeast of Pagan, a small island north of Saipan, about 3,800 miles west of Hawaii.
What we don't know:
The Coast Guard indicated the ship discovered by the HC-130 Hercules crew was similar to the Mariana, but it was still gathering information about it. The agency did not know the nationalities of the missing crew members.
The backstory:
With the fierce winds and relentless rain of Typhoon Sinlaku closing in, the Mariana’s crew reported the ship’s starboard engine had failed and requested assistance. The Coast Guard set a one-hour communication schedule with the crew, but lost contact on Thursday.
An HC-130 took off that morning but had to return to Guam because of the heavy winds.
A U.S. Navy Boeing P-8A Poseidon crew, a Coast Guard cutter, and a Japanese coast guard aircrew, and a vessel with a specialized dive team have been taking part in the search.
The Source: Information for this article was taken from the Associated Press and the U.S. Coast Guard. This story was reported from Orlando.