THE search for 26 seamen who presumably drowned when their fishing trawler sunk off the Eastern Cape coast on Saturday, was officially called off on Tuesday. The South African-registered Palli HJA Mariannu, a 56m, 1000-ton trawler owned by the Palliyethu fishing company, sailed out of Port Elizabeth harbour on Saturday morning and sunk off Cape St Francis. Nine crewmen were airlifted to safety by an Oryx helicopter on Sunday while three bodies were recovered during a large-scale air and sea search involving the SA Air Force, the National Sea Rescue Institute, the police, the Southern Cape Disaster management authorities as well as rescuers workers from Knysna.