Four fishermen rescued off Charles Point after boat sunk in collision

A BLEEDING 67-year-old man spent 90 minutes treading water in Darwin Harbour supported by mates when the boat he was on was ripped apart by an unidentified vessel

Four fishermen were rescued off Charles Point after their boat sunk following a collision with another vessel. PICTURE: HC Blechynden

A BLEEDING 67-year-old man spent 90 minutes treading water in Darwin Harbour supported by mates when the boat he was on was ripped apart by an unidentified vessel.

It is believed the vessel was a barge.

The man was one of four who had been anchored following engine trouble when the incident occurred on Saturday night. The area where the incident occurred is known for its sizeable tiger sharks.

Rescuer Jeff McMooran was responding to a call for assistance from stepson Dale Marshall whose boat had broken down 2.5km from Charles Point on the edge of a shipping lane.

Mr McMooran set out to meet the men in a 4.5m Quintrex owned by Mr Marshall with no GPS and no sounder. He had been given an indication of location from his mobile phone conversation with the group.

A 20-year harbour veteran and a trained first aid officer, he arrived at the site to find no sign of the boat.

“My normal boat is in dry dock and it has spotlights and is well kitted out,” Mr McMooran told the NT News. “I arrived where I believed they should be and got on the phone to Dale but it went straight to message bank. We saw some lights and thought it was them but then the boat went past us and all I had to search was a hand held torch.

“I heard a scream off in the distance and went in one direction and the scream got faint so I turned around and I found them in the water. “

The men were using eskie lids to stay afloat. The men had tried to swim to shore on a changing tide and Mr McMooran believed that may have helped them stay in a central position.

“I am so glad my family is safe,” he said. “I’ve received lots of thank you texts from them today.”

The 67-year-old is the ­father-in-law of Mr Marshall. He is a recovering cancer ­patient and has since been ­released from hospital.

Mr Marshall told Nine News the men made a pact to keep each other alive through the ordeal. It was his boat which was destroyed.

“We all made a pact we weren’t going to leave each other. One of the boys started to give up there and that’s when we made the pact no matter what sticking together that one in all in,” he said.

“Two of the guys jumped ship. Me and another fella stayed on the boat and took the impact. Once we realised it wasn’t stopping we bailed as well.”

The men swam to avoid a massive prop.

Mr Marshall said they owed their lives to Mr McMooran whose first aid training kicked in when they were pulled from the water.

“The old man was going into shock and he put the thermal blanket on him and kept reassuring him and kept him alive,” Mr Marshall said

The injured man was taken to Cullen Bay ferry terminal where they were met by waiting Water Police and an ambulance. He was taken to Royal Darwin Hospital suffering exposure. He also had severe lacerations on his arm.

Police yesterday retrieved several items including eskies from the area of the incident but were unable to detect the 8m fibreglass vessel in the 12m waters.

Water Police Acting Sergeant Travis Edwards said the second vessel involved in the incident had not been identified and police were keen to speak to them.

“There are a few scenarios which could have happened,” he said. “There is no suggestion it was a deliberate hit and run. At this stage we are treating it as an accident and we just want get to the bottom of it and hopefully it doesn’t happen again.

“The vessel that sunk was about an 8m fibreglass vessel. The second vessel has not been positively identified or spoken to. We have not had any contact from the second vessel.”

Sgt Edwards said the anchored vessel had its lights on and there is no suggestion, at this moment, they did not.

“We haven’t managed to find the vessel yet but we certainly have indications we are in the right area at the moment because we’ve managed to find a lot of debris from that vessel,” Sgt Edwards said. “If anyone suspects they were in the area on Saturday night between 6.30pm and 8pm then get in touch with the Water Police.”