Search for missing Lady Moana crew halted

Cook Islands Police are expected to complete their investigation into the missing crew of the inter-island ship Lady Moana and submit a report to the coroner.

Police patrol vessel Te Kukupa II yesterday called off the search for Taio Shipping crew member Luke Vakayawa, a 22-year-old Fijian who fell overboard last weekend.

Police strategic and media adviser Trevor Pitt said the search had been stopped following discussions and assessments with the marine commander yesterday morning.

“This was possible thanks to the comprehensive search by patrol boats over the past two days. Taking into account the currents, the grid search covered most of the area,” said Pitt.

“Only the lifebuoy was seen again and it was immediately deployed by the Lady Moana crew.”

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Vakayawa fell from the Lady Moana cargo ship on its way from Mangaia to Rarotonga on Saturday night/Sunday morning.

Around 3:43 a.m. on Sunday, a police patrol boat received a distress call saying a man had fallen into the water from a cargo ship. Early Sunday morning, the crew quickly moved and arrived at the location of the Lady Moana at 8:45 a.m. After nine hours of efforts, the ship still had not found the man who fell into the water.

Both vessels returned to Rarotonga late on Sunday. Te Kukupa II resumed its search and rescue mission on Monday morning and returned to Awatiu Harbour in the evening, but was unable to locate the missing persons.

On Monday, Taio Shipping said they could not comment at this time as the investigation and search were ongoing.

Vakayawa arrived in the Cook Islands in March 2023 and began working for the shipping company. He is described as shy among his family and community and is a member of the Friends of Rarotonga Fiji Association.

A memorial service is being organised by Friends of Fiji Inc and the family on Rarotonga.

This is the second incident involving Lady Moana going missing overboard.

In September 2019, a seven-year-old boy went missing while returning with his father from his hometown of Lakahanga Island.

The boat turned around and returned to its route before emergency services arrived. Police were alerted and immediately dispatched the police patrol boat Te Kukupa and a flotilla of Aitutaki fishing and tourist boats. Air Rarotonga sent an aircraft to conduct an aerial grid search. The search was scaled back and eventually called off after two days.

A subsequent safety assessment by Maritime New Zealand found serious deficiencies in the company’s ships.

As a result, MV Grinna II was approved to carry 12 passengers, while MV Lady Moana and MV Maungaroa II were registered for freight operations only.

In January 2020, Pitt said a final report into the seven-year-old’s disappearance would be submitted to the coroner to investigate responsibility for his death.

Yesterday, Pitt said the boy who went overboard while sailing from the North a few years ago had become the subject of a full investigation and the relevant files had been submitted to the Coroner.

He said the coroner would decide the next steps in the investigation.