Vanuatu has ended the search for people missing after a passenger ferry sank in rough seas off the country’s coast, with 39 people believed to have died, an official said Friday.

No additional survivors or bodies have been recovered since last weekend, when 14 survivors and two bodies were found.

The ferry MV Matui was carrying 53 people when it sank on Sept 11 while traveling between the islands of Santo and Ambae, Lloyd M. Fikiasi, deputy commissioner of Vanuatu’s Maritime Safety Authority, told The Associated Press.

Officials said earlier this week that the sinking was not reported for a full day and that the number of people aboard remained unclear for several days.

Fikiasi said some people initially reported missing were later found not to have traveled on the ferry. While two bodies were recovered last weekend, the sea search ended Thursday, with 37 people still missing.

The maritime authority this week filed criminal complaints with police against the owners of Tui Shipping, the company’s management and the ferry’s master over alleged breaches of maritime law, according to local news reports.

Vanuatu’s Daily Post reported that the vessel was not authorized to carry passengers and that inspectors had warned the company about overloading personnel and cargo a day before the sinking.

“This loss appears to be the result of strong winds and marine warnings not being heeded, and possibly of negligence including overloading of the vessel,” Prime Minister Jotham Napat said Sunday.

The country’s meteorological service had issued a marine warning about strong winds and high seas on the day the ferry sailed.

Napat on Friday visited survivors and bereaved families on Santo and Ambae, where he urged people to remain calm and pledged an independent investigation into the sinking.

He had earlier said he cancelled a scheduled visit to the U.N. General Assembly in New York to deal with the disaster.

A national memorial service will be held on Sept. 27, Napat said.