The Japanese Coast Guard has abandoned the search for survivors from the Gulf Livestock 1, missing for over a week with 40 crew including Mount Isa man Lukas Orda.
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The news comes barely a day after Japan resumed the search for the ship which went missing in a typhoon last Wednesday.
Civilian ships and other Japanese vessels in the region will still keep looking for any signs of survivors but the announcement overnight means the ship is now confirmed as having gone down in a typhoon last Wednesday.
Of original manifest of 43 crew, just two survivors have so far been found alive. A third man was rescued but died later. There were 6000 cattle aboard.
The total crew included 39 from the Philippines, two from New Zealand and two from Australia, 25-year-old Lukas Orda from Mount Isa and William Mainprize from New South Wales.
The Gulf Livestock 1 sent a distress signal last Wednesday in the East China Sea as a typhoon passed the area.
Lukas Orda had recently landed a job as a veterinarian in the live export sector, and was onboard.
Mr Orda went to Good Shepherd Catholic College in Mount Isa, studied at James Cook University and recently worked as an equine vet on the Gold Coast.
Mr Orda's parents reside in Mount Isa, and work at the North West Hospital and Health Service.
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