A U.S.Airforce plane has launched a search for a Taiwan fishing boat that went missing Monday night with 12 crew members on board near Midway Island in the North Pacific Ocean. The National Search and Rescue Command Center said U.S.Airforce dispatched a plane Monday night to search for the vessel but was forced to abort the mission because of strong winds. A second attempt was made Tuesday morning and, as of Tuesday afternoon the search was still in progress, the center said. Six of the boat's crew are Indonesian, three Chinese, one Filipino and two Taiwanese, according to the Suao Fishery Radio station in Yilan County where the boat is registered. The 80-ton boat, Shunfuyu 86, sent out a mayday signal late Monday night, but there was no way to contact the boat because its satellite phone was obviously broken, the station said. However, the ship's monitoring system kept sending out signals that showed a precise location near Midway Island Monday night, according to the station. The station quoted the Fisheries Agency as saying that the vessel's latest location was somewhere southeast of where the distress signals were coming from the previous night. Meanwhile the ship's Taiwanese owner Wu Cheng-hui said his last contact with the boat was at 11 a.m.Monday by phone. 