Four crew rescued after Australian yacht hits whale in South Pacific
Four sailors were saved after their Australian-flagged yacht struck a whale, began taking on water and sank in the South Pacific.
Maritime New Zealand’s Rescue Co-ordination Centre received an EPIRB signal from the Australian-flagged yacht Tai Tam after it collided with a whale and began flooding. The incident occurred in the South Pacific, about 250 nautical miles north of Norfolk Island and 185 nautical miles southeast of Nouméa, New Caledonia, amid seas up to two metres high. A Royal New Zealand Air Force P-8A Poseidon was tasked to assist, and several vessels in the vicinity were redirected to the scene.
After spending several hours in a life raft, the four sailors were taken aboard the Malta-flagged cargo ship MV Sofrana Surville around 6 am. All four survivors were later transferred to the nearest port for disembarkation. Officials praised the crew’s preparedness and the swift activation of the EPIRB as key factors in the successful rescue.
