Hai Tong #7 went down after becoming distressed in heavy weather 375 miles northwest of Guam on Tuesday during the passage of Typhoon Man-Yi.

Coast Guard, U.S. Navy and Good Samaritan rescuers have been searching for the missing crewmen.

The Coast Guards unit's efforts covered an area roughly 10 times the size of O'ahu. Rescue crews completed more than 14 flights, adding up to roughly 82 hours of flight time and surface assets conducted over 100 hours of search patterns.

"Suspending the search for a crew is never an easy decision," said Lt. James Garland, District 14 search and rescue coordinator. "We discussed all that we did and why we came to the decision with the family. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends during this time. We always want to have a successful outcome in a search and reunite all loved ones with their families; unfortunately that didn't happen in this particular case."

The Coast Guard was first alerted to a possible distress at 11 a.m. Tuesday when an emergency position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) registered to the Hai Tong #7 began signaling. The Horizon Falcon arrived on scene at the beacon's last known position Tuesday and discovered people in the water, an oil slick and other debris. The Horizon Falcon and the Ikan Bilis, both container vessels, rescued 10 people from the water.

A Navy P-3 airplane and crew from Kadena Air Force Base in Okinawa, Japan, a Navy P-3 airplane and crew from Misawa Naval Air Station in Misawa, Japan, two Coast Guard C-130 search planes and crews from Honolulu, and the Coast Guard cutter Sequoia from Guam were sent to respond to the distress by Coast Guard search and rescue controllers coordinating the rescue effort from Honolulu.

At least seven commercial vessels have responded as well.