The following is the text of a news release from the U.S. Coast Guard:
(HONOLULU) — The Coast Guard is continuing the search for a student reported overboard from a Japanese training vessel approximately 70 miles southwest of Kauai on Tuesday.
Watchstanders at the Coast Guard Sector Honolulu Command Center were notified at 9:56 a.m., regarding a 17-year-old male Japanese national who was reported overboard from the 208-foot Japanese training vessel Hokuho Maru during their transit from Honolulu to Japan.
The man was last seen at approximately 2:50 a.m. and was reported missing after he did not show up for muster. He was last seen wearing a light green jumpsuit. It is not known if he was wearing a life jacket.
An HC-130 Hercules airplane crew from Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point was diverted from a training mission and is currently searching the area.
The Coast Guard cutter Kittiwake, home-ported here, and the Coast Guard cutter Kiska, home-ported in Hilo, Hawaii, are en route to assist in the search along with the USS Lake Champlain, home-ported in San Diego, Calif.
The Hokuho Maru is currently retracing its route to search for the missing student along with its two sister training vessels, the Tosakaien Maru and the Chishio Maru.
Weather conditions on scene are winds of approximately 7 mph, seas of 5 feet and a water temperature of approximately 77 degrees.
