Australians William Mainprize and Lukas Orda, and New Zealanders Scott Harris and Lochie Bellerby were aboard the Gulf Livestock 1 when it sunk in the East China Sea on 2 September.
The Japanese Coast Guard have found two survivors and one body, with 40 crew and four life rafts still unaccounted for.
With the Japanese Coast Guard recently calling off its full-time search, the friends and family of the missing men are urging the Australian and New Zealand governments to step in.
“Everyone’s referring to this as a tragedy, but we’ve got every chance to turn it around into this awesome story of hope and survival,” says Tom Mainprize, brother of William.
New reports say all but three crew members were aboard the ship’s bridge prior to the sinking, getting ready to board life vessels.
With the four life rafts able to fit up to 20 people and enough food and water rations for 30 days, the families say there is hope the men are still out there, waiting to be rescued.
“Will has got so much survival experience… I am sure he is leading the survival efforts of the whole crew,” said friend of eight years, Tom Suttor.
The family have launched a Change.org petition urging the Australian and New Zealand governments to put resources towards search efforts. The petition has already gained over 57,000 signatures.
A GoFundMe campaign has also raised over $65,000 to go towards satellite and drone surveillance, search and rescue and awareness campaigns.
