Marine Rescue volunteers called to rescue second vessel out of fuel in two days

[mrsswordfisherman]

MARINE RESCUE NSW
Media Release

Date: July 26, 2014

Marine Rescue volunteers called to rescue second vessel out of fuel in two days

Volunteers from Marine Rescue Bermagui have again been called to rescue a fishing boat stranded far offshore after running out of fuel – only two days after an almost identical emergency operation.

The NSW Police Force Marine Area Command at Eden tasked the Marine Rescue crew at 10.30am to rescue the 8.3m boat adrift 24 nautical miles (24km) out to sea with four people on board.

Bermagui 30 is now under way, with crew members Steven Angelo, Ray McLeod and Mark Donnelly aboard. It will take a little over an hour to reach the vessel’s location but the tow home will be much longer.

On Thursday, this same rescue crew undertook a marathon 10-hour operation when a 10m flybridge cruiser with six people on board ran out of fuel 35 nautical miles (65km) out, on the edge of the Continental Shelf.

Acting Monaro Regional Controller Glenn Sullivan said today’s operation was taking place in less favourable conditions than on Thursday, with a Strong Wind Warning current for Eden and Batemans waters.

“There is a run of tuna on out wide at present and this seems to be attracting these vessels. I strongly urge anyone else planning to go offshore fishing to ensure that they carry sufficient fuel for the journey,” Mr Sullivan said.

“A good rule of thumb is to give yourself a third of the tank to get where you’re going, a third to get back and a third in reserve for the unexpected.

“Once again, these boaters are fortunate that Marine Rescue NSW has the skilled and experienced volunteers and the modern and reliable vessels and technology vital to undertake rescue operations on this scale.”

SECOND EMAIL SENT - Clarification of the above

Clarification on yesterday’s advice re tow for vessel without fuel 24 nautical miles offshore.

The cause of the problem was a faulty fuel pump that would not deliver fuel to the engine. Volunteers from Marine Rescue Bermagui reached the disabled vessel in approx 1 hour 15 mins and took it in tow. The return journey was uneventful and completed in three and a half hours.

The run of Bluefin tuna attracted large numbers of boats to the region and Marine Rescue NSW urges all boaters to log on with their local Marine Rescue radio base to ensure someone responsible knows they are out there and can take action if an emergency occurs.

[Guest Aussie007]

bugger could have happen to anyone of us anywhere at anytime new or old engine, thankfully people are pretty generous on the water and offer a tow, one time we heard a guy calling out by the time we pulled anchor and headed over there were 3 boats ready to tow the broken down boat i seen a guy heading off the other day at a boat ramp in sydneys west on the georges river heard the engine only firing on 3 cylinders and knew he wasnt making it far the engine kept conking out i dont even think the blokes thought of dropping anchor immediately so they were drifting lucky we pulled up a side and towed them to the wharf could have ended worse with a young kid on board as it was almost sunset