emergencies
Sharks attack catamarans in the Coral Sea off Australia
An inflatable catamaran is in distress in the Coral Sea. photo
© Uncredited/AUSTRALIAN MARITIME SAFETY AUTHORITY/dpa
In the middle of the Coral Sea and hundreds of kilometers off the coast of Australia, sharks attack an inflatable catamaran. The boat threatens to sink. But the men on board are lucky.
In the Coral Sea off Australia’s east coast, an inflatable catamaran has been in distress after several shark attacks. The three men on board, two Russians and one Frenchman, were on their way from the South Sea island of Vanuatu to Cairns in Australia’s tropical north, the Australian news agency AAP reported. In the middle of the Coral Sea, a tributary of the Pacific, the nine-meter-long boat was suddenly attacked by predatory fish, which severely damaged both hulls.
When the “Tion” threatened to capsize about 835 kilometers south-east of Cairns, the men sent an emergency call to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA). This informed a cargo ship that was just near the Catamarans was traveling and dispatched an airplane. The crew of the ship “Dugong Ace” finally got the sailors on board and said that everyone is fine. The rescued are expected to arrive in Brisbane on Thursday.
Inflatable mini-catamarans a few meters long are popular with sailors, the Australian broadcaster ABC quoted boat dealer Tim Rice as saying. Mostly they would be used on lakes and for shorter trips between islands. But he had never heard of a nine-meter-long inflatable catamaran used to cross an ocean, the expert said. “Something that size probably has multiple chambers, so if a shark pierces one of them, that boat is still buoyant,” Rice pointed out. That probably saved the lives of the inmates. It was initially unclear why the sharks attacked the boat.