Three sailors rescued after catamaran Tion attacked by sharks in Coral Sea south-east of Cairns, Queensland
Three sailors rescued after catamaran Tion was attacked by sharks in the Coral Sea, southeast of Cairns, Queensland
- AMSA coordinated the rescue of sailors
- Sailors arrive in Brisbane on Thursday
Three foreign sailors have been rescued after several terrifying encounters with sharks that wrecked their catamaran off Australia’s east coast.
Russian adventurers Evgeny Kovalevsky and Stanislav Berezkin and Frenchman Vincent Beaujeu were sailing from Vanuatu to Cairns on their 30-foot inflatable catamaran Tion when several shark attacks damaged both hulls.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority coordinated the rescue effort in the Coral Sea south east of Cairns after responding to a radio distress beacon from the trio’s ship around 1:30am on Wednesday.
AMSA enlisted the help of the Panamanian-flagged freighter Dugong Ace and deployed the Cairns-based Challenger rescue aircraft 835 km away.
The rescue vessel and aircraft reached the stricken sailors three hours later.
Dramatic photos and footage released by the AMSA show the catamaran began to sink during the rescue mission.
Sailors Evgeny Kovalevsky, Vincent Beaujeu and Stanislav Berezkin were on their way to Cairns when disaster struck
The sailors were successfully rescued and will return to Brisbane on dry land on Thursday morning.
The trio is believed to be in good health.
“They’re very lucky… it’s rare for a ship to be this close in such a remote location,” said Joseph Keller, manager of AMSA’s on-duty response center.
“This operation demonstrates once again that maritime rescue efforts transcend geopolitical and international boundaries.
He added that the stern of the catamaran had been torn apart by sharks.
“A large portion of the ship, right aft, was completely removed and destroyed,” Mr. Zeller said.
“The Dugong Ace took the sailors up a ladder, which would have been a tricky situation in itself, as he climbed up the side of the ship.”
Mr. Kovalevsky and fellow adventurer Beryozkin were two-thirds on a three-year journey that followed the first 19th-century Russian expedition around the world
The 9-minflatable catamaran (pictured) came into action during rescue efforts
The trio were rescued from their damaged ship, 835 kilometers from their next destination Cairns
The pair and French crew member Beaujeu left Vanuatu a week ago and had hoped to arrive in Cairns next Monday.
The trio was fully aware that their upcoming journey across the Pacific would not be smooth sailing.
“We set out from Vanuatu, from the island of Efate, where we moored for a week, made repairs. We are going to Cairns, Australia,” Mr Kovalevsky told the Russian Geographical Society last week.
‘The waves are up to three meters high; the wind is probably up to 20 knots. Sometimes it becomes all 25.’
The sailors had spent ten days in Vanuatu while repairs were made to their catamaran, including a broken hull and previous cigar shark damage.
“We were surprised how easy it turned out. We start the engine, we leave the lagoon and set the sails at the exit. See you in Australia,” Mr Kovalevsky added.
It is currently unknown when or if the sailors will continue their journey.
Wednesday’s rescue serves as a timely reminder for sailors to always carry a distress beacon when on the water and ensure it is registered with AMSA.
The catamaran (pictured) has been damaged by several sharks in recent weeks
Cargo ship Dugong Ace (left) has rescued the sailors and is on its way to Brisbane