Yachties rescued from stricken vessel 350km offshore in Coral Sea
A Cairns-based rescue aircraft has been sent to rescue three people from a sinking yacht in the Coral Sea. How the mission unfolded.
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A Cairns-based rescue aircraft has been sent to rescue three people from a sinking yacht in the Coral Sea.
At 7am on Sunday Australian Maritime Safety Authority received a distress signal from a 17m yacht that was taking on water after a failure of the sailing vessel’s electrical systems.
The crew activated a satellite emergency notification device before various rescue craft were deployed to the stricken yacht, located 350km east of Brisbane in the Coral Sea.
By 11.30am both Essendon and Cairns-based Challenger rescue jets arrived at the yacht and dropped two life rafts, communications equipment, and a dewatering pump to the vessel.
A nearby cargo vessel, Darya Nitya, responded to AMSA’s request for assistance and re-routed the ship before spotting the yacht at 5pm.
NSW Police vessel Nemesis arrived shortly after in a joint effort with Australian Defence Force aircraft which provided overhead communication support while the rescue was underway.
By 6.45pm all three sailors had been rescued and transferred to the safety of police launch Nemesis.
AMSA thanked the crew of Darya Nitya, NSW Police, Queensland Police Service and the ADF for their invaluable assistance in this rescue.
“This incident is a strong reminder of the importance of carrying a suitable distress beacon while offshore, it may save your life,” an AMSA spokesman said.
The latest Coral Sea rescue follows a mercy mission to a remote Torres Strait islet earlier this month to rescue a group of 16 people, including a young baby.
Sea Swift ship Fourcroy was mid-voyage when the ship was re-routed to Cap Islet, located 10km northwest of Yam Island, to rescue the group in rough weather.
Originally published as Yachties rescued from stricken vessel 350km offshore in Coral Sea
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