BUCHAREST, Romania — After five frantic days of searching, there are no more living animals.

The president of a Romanian animal welfare organization made the grim announcement on Friday, ending an effort to rescue more than 14,000 sheep trapped on a cargo ship that overturned after leaving port, an episode that has raised fresh questions about transporting live animals by sea.

The sheep had been destined for a buyer in Saudi Arabia when the vessel, the Queen Hind, partly capsized on Sunday. The ship’s crew of 21 was quickly rescued, but thousands of animals remained on board.

For days, rescue workers searched for surviving sheep. On Sunday, they were able to pull 33 living animals from the waters. Over the following days, as they searched the vessel, more were found alive among piles of sodden carcasses.

“It was kind of a nightmare, but otherwise we didn’t have any chance to reach the live animals,” said Kuki Barbuceanu, the president of the animal welfare organization, known as ARCA.