Friends of Will Mainprize raise $65K in a day for search and rescue efforts

Community driven search and rescue efforts have raised $65K in one day for satellite and drone surveillance, chartered search and rescue vehicles, media awareness and search incentives.

• Family of missing cattle ship crew pleads for Australia to join search
• Will Mainprize’s family and friends plead with Aus Govt to ramp up search support: ‘He’s out there’

A CROWDFUNDING account for the community driven search and rescue efforts for the 40 Gulf Livestock I crewmen lost at sea has raised more than $65,000 in just over a day.

The ‘Save the Forty of Gulf Livestock’ GoFundMe page was launched by two best friends of missing New South Wales stockman and part-time Tasmanian resident and adventure guide, Will Mainprize.

Hobart’s Harry Morrison and Elliot O’Hara of New South Wales set a $300,000 fundraising goal, which will go towards satellite and drone surveillance technology, chartered search and rescue vehicles, media awareness campaigns and search incentives.

At 9am on Thursday morning the balance was at $65,763.

Mr Mainprize was among the two Australians, two New Zealanders and 39 Filipinos on live export ship Gulf Livestock 1 when it capsized and sank in heavy seas during Typhoon Maysak on September 2.

Australian stockman William Mainprize is one of the crew missing from live cattle export ship Gulf Livestock 1.

Japan’s coast guard scaled back its search and rescue operations in the East China Sea to regular air and sea patrols less than a week after receiving the livestock carriers distress signal.

Since then, family and friends of the 40 missing men have begun investigating avenues for digital and physical community driven search and rescue efforts and begging the Australian government to ramp up its support for the search effort.

The 40 crewmen, one lifeboat and four life rafts are not accounted for after one survivor was located in a life raft, another was found floating in the water and a third deceased man was pulled from the water.

Information on the GoFundMe page says friends and family are still hopeful as all life vessels hold 20-30 people and enough food and water rations to last 30 days.

“Reports have emerged from the found survivors that all but three crew members were on the ship’s bridge prior to the boat sinking, preparing to board life vessels,” it says.

Japan Coast Guard rescue a man from a life raft about 2km north-northwest of Kodakarajima island of Kagoshima prefecture. Picture: AFP PHOTO/JAPAN COAST GUARD

The page also lists ways the public can help.

“After much campaigning and lobbying, the Australian, New Zealand and Filipino governments are yet to deploy any resources, funding, or support to the rescue effort,” it continues.

“Any money, help, advice or time you can spare means the world to us and we could not be any more thankful.

“We just want our boys home.”

A federal government spokeswoman said the government continued to engage closely with the Japanese government in the “ongoing search efforts by the Japanese Coast Guard”.

“Our hearts go out to all affected by this tragedy, in particular to the families of the two Australian men who are missing,” she said.

“We have had strong levels of co-operation with Japanese authorities and we have deep trust in their advanced maritime search and rescue capabilities.

“We regard Japan’s Coast Guard as highly professional and capable, and we believe its search has been thorough and well-managed.”