Members of the RMI Sea Patrol vessel RMIS Lomor 03, a Pacific Forum-class patrol boat, scan for a missing 37-foot sea ambulance during an ongoing search on March 9, 2025. Photo: MIPD Sea Patrol Officer Kattil
Search and rescue efforts to find four people onboard a 37-foot sea ambulance that went missing in the Marshall Islands waters have been suspended.
However, the Marshall Islands government search and rescue (SAR) taskforce says it is committed to locate the missing vessel and its crew.
The US Coast Guard said in a statement that members of the RMI Sea Patrol vessel RMIS Lomor 03, a Pacific Forum-class patrol boat, suspended the search for the sea ambulance and its crew on Monday.
The crew, who went missing on 3 March, was all male, including a captain, nurse practitioner, health assistant, and community health worker. They had departed the capital Majuro for Mili Atoll for a TB screening campaign.
The search and rescue operation was cordinated by the joint Rescue Coordination Center (JRCC) Honolulu team. It included a US Navy P-8 Poseidon and crew from Kadena Air Base, Japan, a US Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules airplane and crew from Air Station Barbers Point, Hawai'i, and RMI Sea Patrol vessel RMIS Lomor 03 and the motor vessel LiWeton Mour crews.
"Nearly 82 hours across 16 searches by our US Coast Guard, US Navy, and Republic of the Marshall Islands team covered over 52,000 square nautical miles, but no trace was found," the US Coast Guard said in an update.
"We stand with the families and the Republic of the Marshall Islands community in their grief," US Coast Guard Forces Micronesia/Sector Guam public affairs officer Sara Muir said.
"Our Navy and Marshallese partners poured extraordinary skill and resolve into this search across a vast Pacific expanse.
"Suspending active efforts doesn't diminish our respect for these mariners' lives or the hope that answers may still come."
The Marshall Islands Health Ministry confirmed that debris from the missing vessel had been found washed up at Imiej, Jaluit Atoll.
"RMI Sea Patrol vessels and Lomor boats continue active search operations," the SAR taskforce said in a statement on Tuesday.
"Local authorities and community networks remain engaged in monitoring coastal areas for further findings.
"Search efforts will intensify based on the latest developments," it added.
