A PATROL vessel will join the search for the Nicola Faith fishing boat off the coast of Conwy.

The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB), which is probing the disappearance of the fishing boat in January, has acquired the use of the Rhodri Morgan from the Welsh Government. The large fishery patrol vessel is used to protect Welsh waters from illegal fishing activity and has sonar scanning equipment.

Sadly, the bodies of two crew members, Ross Ballantine, 39, and Carl McGrath, 34, have been identified after being discovered on the Wirral and Blackpool.

Mr Ballantine and Mr McGrath had been on the vessel Nicola Faith with third crew member, Alan Minard, 20, when it left Conwy quay on January 27.

The body of a third man has also been discovered but has not been formally identified.

A spokesperson for MAIB, a UK Government agency, said: “We are delighted that the Welsh Government Fisheries Patrol Vessel, Rhodri Morgan, is today joining the search for the missing fishing vessel the Nicola Faith. The Rhodri Morgan will be mobilised with a towable multi-pulse side scan sonar. We are extremely grateful to the crew and technicians onboard for their collaboration.

"In addition, mounted on a second vessel, Natural Resource Wales are also operating a high definition side scan sonar which has been used by the MAIB for a number of days.

"MAIB remains focused on getting answers for the families and learning what went wrong so that steps can be taken to prevent this happening again.”

The investigation was launched on February 1, four days after the Nicola Faith was reported missing, has covered more than 30 square miles of seabed. MAIB has identified the vessel’s primary operating area, which it said has been searched "with a considerable amount of overlap".

"The specialist equipment that is being used is extremely sensitive and the search has been hampered by poor weather in recent weeks," a MAIB spokesperson said.

A private search is also being led by oceanographer David Mearns, a deep water rescue specialist who helped to recover the wreckage of the plane carrying Cardiff City footballer Emiliano Sala. Mr Mearns's expertise and resources were acquired after a huge fundraising effort has gathered more than £84,000.

He has hired survey contractor SEP Hydrographic with equipment including a multi-beam sonar and side-scanner.

The search has covered areas about 4.5km off the Great Orme and ruled out possible sightings including an 11-metre shipwreck and a patch of diesel fuel off Pen Trwyn point.

The families are understood to have been kept fully updated on the ongoing search efforts.