Two Vietnamese sailors are among 49 crew members missing on a Taiwanese ship since late February.

AFP reported that the boat vanished in the southern Atlantic Ocean without any sign of a mayday call, but shortly after its skipper reported it was taking on water.

According to AFP, authorities said on March 8 that Hsiang Fu Chun, a 700-tonne squid fishing vessel, lost contact with its owners "soon" after reporting that water was leaking onto the deck at around 3am on February 26.

The vessel was sailing about 1,700 nautical miles (3,148 kilometres) off the coast of the Falkland/Malvinas Islands when it vanished, according to recorded satellite data.