Four sailors rescued after yacht struck by whale in South Pacific

Maritime New Zealand says it has co-ordinated the rescue of four sailors from the open waters of the South Pacific Ocean after their yacht struck a whale and began to sink.

According to Maritime NZ’s Rescue Co-ordination Centre (RCCNZ) operations manager Mike Clulow, an alert was received from an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) on the 15.5m-long Tai Tam at about 1pm yesterday.

“It was taking on water and began sinking after reporting it had struck a whale,” he said in a press release.

At the time, the Australian-flagged vessel was positioned about 250 nautical miles north of Norfolk Island and 185 nautical miles southeast of Nouméa, New Caledonia.

“The yacht was experiencing seas of up to 2m and a Royal New Zealand Airforce P-8A Poseidon was tasked with assisting,” Clulow said.

“Several vessels were in the area and diverted to assist.

Maritime New Zealand has co-ordinated the rescue of four sailors after their Australian-flagged yacht was struck by a whale and began to take on water. Photo / New Zealand Defence Force

Clulow said the four sailors on the vessel had to abandon ship and spent several hours in a life raft before being rescued at about 6am on Sunday morning by the crew of the MV Sofrana Surville, a 143m cargo vessel which was first on the scene.

He said the rescue was “well co-ordinated and executed”, and thanked the RCCNZ’s partners at the New Zealand Defence Force, Australia’s Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre and Nouméa’s Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre for their assistance and support.

He also extended gratitude to both the crews on the Malta-flagged MV Sofrana Surville and a private vessel which aided in the operation.

The sailors spent several hours in a life raft before being rescued. Photo / New Zealand Defence Force

All four sailors were now safely on board the MV Sofrana Surville and will be taken to the nearest port to disembark.

“The crew of the yacht did all the right things, and it was unfortunate to have struck a whale in open water,” Clulow said.

The 143m-long Malta-flagged cargo ship MV Sofrana Surville rescued the group of sailors at about 6am. Photo / New Zealand Defence Force

“They were well prepared and the early activation of their EPIRB was key to helping get them to safety.

“It is an excellent reminder that being prepared when going to sea can save your life.”