MV Bingo's 18-member crew, comprising mostly Chinese nationals, were believed to have left the ship on a lifeboat and are yet to be located. Rescue aircraft have been pressed into service to trace the sailors.

"In all likelihood the ship must have sunk otherwise it would have been located by now. Search operations are still on and we are looking for the crew which it seems must have been picked up by any other vessel," a Coast Guard spokesperson said.