The wife of an Australian man feared drowned off the coast of Japan has spoken of the anguish she and her infant son are facing.
Queensland veterinarian Lukas Orda is one of two Australians lost at sea, after the Gulf Livestock 1 ship disappeared off the coast of Japan on 2 September during a typhoon.
With a local search and rescue operation currently suspended, his wife Emma has written of “heart-wrenching pain” experienced by the relatives of the 40 missing crew members.
“I stand here today with our son Theodore, who is only six months old and faces the possibility of never knowing his father,” she said in a statement.
“Each moment is a living nightmare.”
Mr Orda worked as an equine vet on the Gold Coast, before joining the crew of the vessel in June.
Lukas Orda with his son Theodore. Source: Supplied
Recently married, the couple welcomed their first child in February.
“The thought of Theo growing up without his father is heartbreaking,” Ms Orda said.
“Until we find them, I won’t be able to answer him why he has to grow up without his dad.”
“It is questions like this that will haunt me and all the other affected families forever.”
The Japanese Coast Guard was able to locate two survivors before the search was suspended, one of whom told rescuers the crew were instructed to put on life jackets before he was swept overboard.
Ms Orda said she was encouraged by the “promising evidence” of survivors, urging authorities to expand the search operation “so that this nightmare can end for all of us.”
“Limiting this search looks like giving up, which we cannot and will not do,” she said.
“It’s not an option for Theo, or me or for any of the vessel’s crew members.”
“There is too much hope for the search to be scaled back in any way.”
Close family friend Trent Jorgensen, who served as best man at the couple's wedding, also made an appeal to the Japanese Coast Guard.
Mr Orda worked as an equine vet on the Gold Coast, before joining the crew of Gulf Livestock 1. Source: Supplied
"I think absolutely 100 percent Lukas, and these guys are still alive, so it is deplorable that we are not out there looking for them," he told SBS News.
"He was one of our mates, just out there doing a job and we want to bring him home."
The Australian government has previously said it is ready to assist in the search and rescue effort.
"Australia is engaging Japanese authorities closely on Japan’s search and rescue effort, acknowledging Japan’s responsibilities in this instance under the International Search and Rescue Convention," Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne and Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack said in a joint statement on Friday.
"Japan’s Coast Guard has advised the Australian Embassy in Tokyo and the Australian Consulate-General in Osaka that wide area surveillance by air and sea continues."
The brother of the other missing Australian, stockman Will Mainprize, told SBS News an offer of Australian assistance from DFAT is yet to be accepted by Japan.
"We're not really in a waiting game sort of scenario," Tom Mainprize said
Missing stockman Will Mainprize takes a selfie during one of his Tasmanian adventure tours. Source: Supplied
"They've been out in the water, so it is only a matter of time [until] ... it might be too late."
A petition directed at DFAT and the New Zealand Ministry of Trade to resume the search has more then 40,000 signatures.
"That just kind of shows the affect Will has had on the people around him," Mr Mainprize said.
The Gulf Livestock 1 vessel departed Napier in New Zealand on 14 August, carrying 5,867 cattle to Tangshan, China.
New Zealand announced Friday it would review its live export regime, following the disaster.
