Russian Sailors who faced off with 20 sharks make desperate plea

Three sailors on an around-the-world trip who were dramatically rescued after their tiny catamaran was ripped apart by sharks off the Queensland coast have launched a public appeal for help.

The Russian around-the-world sailors dramatically rescued after their tiny catamaran was ripped apart by sharks off the Queensland coast have launched a public appeal for funds to buy a new boat.

Russian Geographical Society adventurers Evgeny Kovalevsky and Stanislav Berezkin, along with French crewman Vincent Etienne, were sailing from Vanuatu to Cairns as part of a three-year circumnavigation when their 9m inflatable catamaran was attacked by up to 20 cookie-cutter sharks.

The Russian sailors were rescued off the Queensland coast after sharks attacked their vessel.

They were rescued by a Panamanian cargo ship more than 800km off Cairns early Wednesday morning and brought into the Sunshine Coast by water police.

Their catamaran, the Tion-Russian Ocean Way, sank and the seafarers have now launched an appeal to buy a new one so they can continue their odyssey tracing Russia’s first circumnavigations in the 19th century.

“The Russian sailors need help!” Mr Berezkin posted on his Facebook page.

“The crew was incredibly lucky, as there were no more than two hours before complete flooding and going underwater. “The crew … was saved! (But) The catamaran died with all its equipment.

The three sailors when they were rescued off Cairns. Picture Supplied

“On September 7, 2023 the sailors arrived in Brisbane and are in a dire situation: vessel lost, no equipment, funds.

“For a decent completion of the worldwide expedition, the team of an extreme educational project needs your help. You can help us with finances, team accommodation, car to Australia for a month and most importantly, a ship.

“We will be glad of any help!”

Mr Berezkin earlier posted that he was determined to survive the ordeal because “we have little children at home”.

“I just wanted to live,” he wrote.

The team left St Petersburg in July 2021 and are due back in the port in July next year.

Stanislav Berezkin, Evgeny Kovalensky and Vincent Etienne return to dry land at Mooloolaba. Picture: Lachie Millard

Originally published as Russian Sailors who faced off with 20 sharks make desperate plea