The wreck of the fishing vessel Emerald Dawn, which sank mysteriously off the Co Down coast on Wednesday, has been located and divers are expected to examine it as soon as weather permits.
The survivor of the tragedy in the Irish Sea, Mr Shane Murnaghan (28), is expected to be discharged from hospital in the Isle of Man soon.
Mr Murnaghan was rescued by a freighter from his life-raft, which drifted for some 20 hours near the island.
Mr Colin Donnelly (30) did not make it to the life-raft when their 11-metre vessel sank.
The search for Mr Donnelly was called off on Thursday when the coastguard said there was no chance of him being found alive.
The search involved five lifeboats, helicopter crews from Anglesey, Wales and Dublin, and fishing boats from the missing man's home port of Kilkeel. Many of the small boats continued looking after the official search was called off.
The missing man's father, Mr Bernard Donnelly, said his family took heart from the rescue of Mr Murnaghan and commended the crews who searched for his son "as if they were looking for their own flesh and blood". He said their goodness was unbelievable.
"My son didn't make it to the life-raft, but it is better to have one than have lost two. I mean that from the bottom of my heart."
Speaking from Nobel's hospital in Douglas, Mr Murnaghan recalled how the boat sank as they were fishing for crabs.
"I don't know what happened," he said. "The boat just went and when the life-raft went off, I swam to it. I saw Colin and he had a life-jacket on. When I got into the life-raft, I turned around and Colin was gone."