Relatives of Lukas Orda have launched a petition to continue the search for the missing crew of Gulf Livestock 1
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The ship, with 25-year-old Mount Isa vet Lukas Orda aboard, went missing off the coast of Japan in a typhoon on Wednesday September 2
However on Wednesday this week the Japanese Coast Coast called off the search with 40 people still missing.
The petition says "the family of Lukas including his parents Sabine and Ulrich Orda" are devastated to hear that the search for the missing crew members was stopped.
"We are writing to you as the parents, parents in law, wife and family of Lukas Orda, one of the Australian nationals still missing after the sinking of Gulf Lifestock One. We also include William, the two New Zealand and the 36 men from the Phillipines in our plea," the petition said.
"We appreciate all the help that DFAT and its staff members have done to support us and the other families. We are also greatly appreciative of the work and dedication of the Japan Coast Guard who risked their lives to save them."
The petition said the Australian Consular Emergency Centre advised the family on September 7 that information supplied by the Philippines Consul-General (Osaka) from one of the survivors who was washed overboard that the captain called all crew on the bridge in life vests to enter the lifeboats.
"It is extremely concerning that given this above information that the search would be suspended as this provided evidence that people were unlikely to be trapped on the ship and could be still floating in the ocean awaiting rescue," the petition said.
There has been no sightings of any other dead bodies of the remaining 40 crew, with four liferafts and one lifeboat which still have not been found.
"Where are the remaining vessels? Therefore, there is a strong possibility that at least some of the crew members including Lukas and William made it into a missing lifeboat or raft. Robbie Katter said they searched for the missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 for two years and it was disappointing the Australian government had given up so quickly.
It';s a desperate situation and if I was the foreign minister I was be doing anything possible to get them home," Mr Katter said.
"Those liferafts are out there somewhere and could have people in them."
See the petition here.
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