The Coast Guard cutters Munro and Alex Haley have been helping search for the missing crew of the sunk trawler Oryong 501 in the western Bering Sea. (Credit: Diana Honings/USCG)

The Coast Guard is preparing to pull back from a search effort in the Western Bering Sea, a week after a fishing vessel sank there with dozens of people on board.

Rescuers have found 27 deceased crew members from the South Korean pollock boat since last week. Twenty-six are still missing. Others were rescued just after the Oryong 501 was hit by a wave, flooded and sank.

Coast Guard public affairs officer Grant DeVuyst says most of the American aircraft and vessels on scene have been relieved by the Korean Navy and Coast Guard.

Two Korean aircraft are now stationed at Alaska's Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, making the few-hour flight to Russian waters north of St. Matthew Island every day to keep searching.

DeVuyst says the Coast Guard is still helping with planning efforts -- and the cutter Alex Haley is still on scene. He expects it'll return to Alaska by the end of the week.