The Tonga Police today ended a search and rescue phase for two Australian sailors who remain missing after their yacht Navillus was wrecked off Late Island last week.

Tonga's Acting Police Commissioner Taniela Faletau said this afternoon that the land area search on Late Island over the last two days had found no sign of human activity or wreckage to suggest that the missing men might have been able to make it on the island.

He said that starting tomorrow, they would move on to a second stage of search and recovery along the neighboring coastal areas near Late.

"After assessing the report from Vava'u today on the land area search on the island, we decided to end the search and rescue based on the circumstances that the two men have remained missing after seven days and under rough conditions. In addition there have been no signs of human activity or wreckage on Late island after two days of land area search held from June 19-20," he said.

Taniela said they had also informed the Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Wellington, New Zealand, of their assessment and decision to end the search and rescue phase.