Three Sailors Rescued After Boat Attacked by Sharks
Three sailors from Russia and France were rescued on Wednesday after their inflatable catamaran was attacked by sharks while navigating from Vanuatu to Australia, according to authorities. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority received an alert from an emergency beacon and responded to the scene in the Coral Sea, more than 500 miles east of the Australian coast. The men’s boat, measuring 9 meters, had both hulls damaged after multiple shark attacks.
Rescuers enlisted the help of the Panamanian-flagged ship, “Dugong Ace,” and a rescue plane was also dispatched. The two Russians and one Frenchman were successfully rescued and taken aboard the vessel. Joe Zeller, duty manager at the agency’s Canberra response center, stated that the three men were in good health and spirits.
Footage captured by a rescue helicopter shows the catamaran floating in calm waters as it is approached by the Dugong Ace. The sailors, aged between 28 and 64, are scheduled to arrive in Brisbane, Australia, on Thursday. Zeller mentioned that a journey of this kind from Vanuatu to Australia typically takes two to three weeks.
Aerial photos revealed severe damage to the catamaran, with one hull’s front section completely missing. Zeller emphasized the importance of carrying distress beacons while at sea, as the GPS-encoded emergency beacon played a crucial role in quickly locating the sailors and launching an appropriate rescue operation.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority stated, “This is a timely reminder to always carry a distress beacon while on the water. GPS-equipped EPIRBs and personal locator beacons (PLBs) can save your life in an emergency.” The motivations behind the shark attacks remain unclear, though the Coral Sea is known for its abundance of reef sharks, as well as other apex species such as tuna and marlin.
In a similar incident last year, three men whose fishing boat sank off the Louisiana coast were rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard after surviving for more than a day, despite being attacked by sharks. The Australian government notes that the Coral Sea is home to more sharks “than almost any other survey site in the world.”
AFP contributed to this report.
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