Citing Coast Guard reports, Homeland Security testimony, and a 12‑day multinational search, the Superior Court has declared four members of the M/V Mariana crew presumed dead, including the vessel’s captain, concluding that Sinlaku’s extreme conditions left no chance of survival.
Presiding Judge Joseph N. Camacho issued the rulings in four related probate petitions filed by the families of Captain Frederick Leroy Nosek Jr., mariner Mohammed Arifur Rahaman, mariner Landon Derent Gregory Delos Reyes, and mariner Vincent Thomas Benavente Agulto. Captain Nosek’s wife, Kyung Ok Nosek, was represented by attorney Robert T. Torres, while the three crewmen’s families were represented by attorneys Andrés Ojeda Morales and Michael W. Dotts.
The court relied on testimony from Clement Bermudes, Special Assistant for Homeland Security and Emergency Management, who described how Super Typhoon Sinlaku shifted north unexpectedly, trapping the Mariana after it lost its starboard engine. Bermudes said the vessel faced 200‑mph winds and 50‑foot swells — conditions he testified were “not survivable,” even for mariners wearing lifejackets.
A multinational search involving the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, Japanese Navy, and New Zealand Navy covered 135,000 square miles over 12 days. Only one body was recovered from the overturned hull.
Family members shared their final communications with the crew. That morning, Captain Nosek sent his last message to his wife, telling her the ship had broken down and adding, “please don’t worry, you know I am a fighter.” Rahaman texted his wife, Duangta Thosert, “Not good conditions.” Delos Reyes sent his girlfriend, Shirley Lizama, a video showing water flooding the deck. Agulto told his mother, Alicia Agulto, “Be safe mom,” along with footage of the vessel rocking violently.
The court found clear and convincing evidence that all four men were exposed to a specific peril of death, had not been heard from since April 16, and remained missing despite extensive search efforts. The CNMI Office of Vital Statistics was ordered to issue death certificates listing the cause as “Lost at Sea during Super Typhoon Sinlaku.”
While the Mariana’s crew numbered six, the court’s rulings apply only to the four mariners whose families filed petitions seeking declarations of presumed death. No information regarding the other two crew members was addressed in the court proceedings.
