The families of three crew members lost at sea during Super Typhoon Sinlaku are asking the CNMI Superior Court to allow Coast Guard records into evidence after federal officials denied live testimony from the lead investigator of the capsized cargo vessel Mariana.
Attorney Andrés Ojeda Morales filed motions for protective orders in all three probate cases — for Vincent Agulto, Landon Delos Reyes, and Mohammed Rahaman — seeking permission to introduce certified U.S. Coast Guard records that detail the two‑week search and rescue operation.
The Coast Guard’s denial, issued July 3, cites a federal statute that bars investigators from testifying in civil proceedings related to marine casualty investigations. “Commander Mausz’s testimony is statutorily barred,” the Coast Guard wrote.
However, the agency offered an alternative: it will release certified business records only if Morales obtains a protective order ensuring the documents are used exclusively for the probate hearings and not in any related litigation, including the vessel owner’s limitation‑of‑liability case in the U.S. District Court of Guam.
Morales told the court that without Coast Guard evidence, the judge cannot make the required finding of presumed death under the law, preventing the estates from opening and leaving the families unable to participate in the Guam federal case.
The motions ask the court to approve the protective order so the Coast Guard can release the records before the July 23 evidentiary hearing.
The 145‑foot cargo vessel Mariana (formerly MV Luta) was carrying six crew members when it lost engine power on April 15, roughly 140 miles north‑northwest of Saipan. Coast Guard watchstanders established hourly communications with the vessel manager, but contact was lost that evening. The vessel was later found capsized about 100 nautical miles from its last known position.
For two weeks, the Coast Guard and partner agencies searched more than 135,000 square nautical miles before suspending operations on April 29.
