Captain of Port Lincoln ship proud of his crew for rescuing trawler adrift in The Bight for two weeks

The relieved captain of a Port Lincoln ship which rescued a trawler adrift in the Great Australian Bight for almost a fortnight has told how proud he is of his crew.

Tim Bascombe and the crew of the Saxon S spent six harrowing days on a search and rescue mission after the trawler Silver Phoenix broke down on December 9 and faced terrible weather conditions on the Great Australian Bight.

The relieved captain of a Port Lincoln ship which rescued a trawler adrift in the Great Australian Bight for almost a fortnight has told how proud he is of his crew.

Tim Bascombe and the crew of the Saxon S spent six harrowing days on a search and rescue mission after the trawler Silver Phoenix broke down on December 9 and faced terrible weather conditions.

At the mercy of the sea, the crew of five had run out of stored food and were living off the fish they had caught during nearly two weeks in some of the world’s most challenging seas.

They remained in contact with maritime officials and one attempt at a tow by a fellow fishing boat failed as gale force winds hit. One crew member learnt of a family death by phone.

The successful rescue mission took six days, often at a relative crawl, as the Stehr Group’s ship Saxon S found the trawler at night then slowly towed it from near the West Australian border back to Port Lincoln where it arrived on Friday morning.

The Saxon S had set out the previous Saturday morning on the mercy mission after the engine of deep sea trawler Silver Phoenix malfunctioned more than 400km off Port Lincoln.

Stehr group chairman Hagen Stehr said: “I am so very proud of this crew and their courageous effort.”

The trawler Silver Phoenix faced terrible weather conditions in the Great Australian Bight for almost a fortnight. Picture: Facebook/Tim Bascombe

The Saxon S skipper, Tim Bascombe, took to social media to say how proud he was of his crew which was hastily assembled amid Christmas festivities and absences.

“Finally home after a 6 day rescue and recovery operation of the vessel Silver Phoenix after they were adrift in the Great Australia Bight,” Mr Bascombe wrote.

“Some of the worst weather conditions I’ve ever experienced, but the best crew I could have asked for — Martin Kranz, Mason Gilly Flitter, Leigh Elliot, Mick Dalby and Steve Murray — who all performed outstandingly.

“I’m glad to have brought these guys home.”

The Port Lincoln community and Mr Bascombe’s friends were quick to congratulate the rescue crew, one commenting: “Not all heroes wear capes … A job well done — with safe outcomes.”

However there are reportedly mixed in the fishing community after another vessel did not render assistance, although it is understood the smaller vessel did not have equipment to help with any rescue. Fisheries Minister Tim Whetstone praised the crew of the Saxon S noting the conditions were “atrocious”.

“This really is mates looking after mates — one ship was in trouble and the Stehr Group rallied to rescue,” he said.

Mr Whetstone said the rescue crew had been trained at the Australian Maritime and Fisheries Academy at Port Lincoln and were skilled in massive maritime tasks including towing tuna pens in the Southern Ocean.

“It really does reflect the importance of the academy and having trained, brave people ready to lend a hand with world class expertise when colleagues get into trouble,” he said.

“They were in atrocious conditions, rescuing a crew in 40 to 50 knots gale winds on a ship worth about $9 million dollars. It shows the goodwill of the Stehr Group and industry helping industry. “What a great Christmas success story.”

Skipper of the Silver Phoneix, Peter Woods, told the Port Lincoln Times his ship was halfway through a fishing trip when it encountered an engine issue and was forced to stop due to overheating, then the engineer discovered a crack in the engine’s liner which had allowed water into the sump.

Mr Woods went on to say the rescue was a great effort in challenging conditions.

“Under the conditions it was a very good job,” he said.

The cost of the rescue is in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, but with all safe and well that will be a problem for insurance companies.