Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand News

Emergency responders have launched an urgent rescue mission to Antartic waters to evacuate a cruise ship passenger who is suspected to have suffered a stroke early Monday morning. Working closely with the U.S. Antarctic Program and the vessel’s operator and crew, Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ) is coordinating the medevac after receiving a call from the expedition cruise ship MV Ortelius located in the Ross Sea, off the Antarctic ice shelf, 3,600 km south of New Zealand.

A crew of 36 fishermen was rescued Sunday from a Papua New Guinean ship after an engine fire left the fishing vessel disabled roughly 200 miles off Tokelau, a territory of New Zealand in the South Pacific. The rescue was coordinated by the Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ), with assistance from the U.S. Coast Guard as well as another nearby fishing vessel. Search and Rescue Mission Coordinator, Mike Roberts, said the one-year-old Papua New Guinea registered Glory Pacific No.8 activated its emergency beacon  after an engine room fire disabled the ship 210 miles NNE of Tokelau, just inside the New Zealand search and rescue region. The U.S. Coast Guard Honolulu offered to send a C130 Hercules aircraft to investigate, and because the location was so far North, the U.S.

Two New Zealand sailors and their Mexican skipper were rescued from a liferaft 280 kilometers south of Niue after their yacht caught fire just after midnight June 23, Maritime New Zealand reported. The 15-meter U.S.-registered yacht SV Sunny Deck was travelling from Rarotonga to Tonga when a fire in the engine compartment engulfed the vessel. The 36-year-old skipper was on watch, and the two other sailors – both from Hamilton, aged 67 and 70 – were asleep at the time. The crew had no time to dress or grab any equipment before abandoning the vessel to a liferaft but the skipper managed to reach the EPIRB - fire had already melted the lanyard attaching it to the vessel.

A U.S. Coast Guard crew is en route to assist a 207-foot fishing vessel with 26 people aboard beset in ice approximately 900 miles northeast of McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star is attempting to reach the crew of an Australian-flagged fishing vessel, Antarctic Chieftain, who contacted Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand Tuesday evening for assistance after becoming trapped in the Antarctic ice. The crew of 40-year-old cutter has reported heavy, snow, wind and ice conditions at times as well as large icebergs along their course.

A U.S. Coast Guard cutter has been diverted from its path to rescue a 207-foot fishing vessel stuck in Antarctic ice, the US Coast Guard announced in a press release today. Antarctic Chieftain, an Australian-flagged fishing vessel with 27 passengers, contacted Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand after becoming beset in ice 900 miles Northeast of McMurdo Sound, Antarctica on Tuesday. The vessel suffered damage to three of its four propeller blades when it became stuck in the ice and lost its ability to maneuver. RCC New Zealand diverted U.S.

McMurdo Group’s Techno-Sciences Inc. says it has been chosen by the Australia Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) and Maritime New Zealand (MNZ) to deploy their next-generation satellite-aided search and rescue systems. The MEOSAR (Medium-altitude Earth Orbit Search and Rescue) installations will be the first such systems in Asia Pacific and will significantly reduce the time between a distress beacon activation and the resulting emergency alert notification from hours to minutes, greatly accelerating the rescue coordination effort by SAR personnel. As a result, survivors will be found faster and more lives will be saved. “Australia and New Zealand have two of the largest SAR regions in the world…

The search for the missing schooner 'Nina' by the Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ) in June-July 2013 went beyond what many overseas authorities would have conducted, an independent reviewer has found. RCCNZ explain that David Baird, former General Manager of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority’s Emergency Response Division, conducted the independent review at the request of Maritime New Zealand Director Keith Manch. The reviewer found: “In many areas RCCNZ went well beyond the requirements of the SAR Convention and its Standard Operating Procedures, demonstrating conviction, compassion and determination to achieve a satisfactory result.

Trans-Tasman kayaker Scott Donaldson has been successfully rescued from his kayak 83 kilometres off the Taranaki Coast, south-west of New Plymouth, says Maritime NZ. The Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand organised for the Taranaki Rescue Helicopter to fly to Scott’s location and winch him aboard.RCCNZ Senior Search and Rescue officer Kevin Banaghan says weather conditions were deteriorating, and Scott had declared to his support crew in the morning that his situation was unsafe. Once on scene, the helicopter pilot talked to Scott by radio, then a swimmer from the rescue service went into the water. Scott then jumped into the sea from his vessel; and both were safely winched into the helicopter.

A solo Canadian sailor has been rescued from his sinking yacht in rough conditions 1,250 nautical miles (2,300km) north-east of Auckland - about 600nm (1,100km) south of Rarotonga - after a mercy dash by the car-carrier 'Fidelio', reports Maritime NZ. The Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ) was alerted by the signal from a US-coded EPIRB distress beacon and despatched an RNZAF P3 Orion to the scene. The air found the 11m sloop (single-masted yacht) L’Antillaise, with one man from British Columbia on board…

Grave concerns are held for the crew of the historic American 21m (70ft) schooner Nina missing en route from Opua in the Bay of Islands to Newcastle, Australia. The vessel, built in 1928, left Opua on 29 May and has not been heard from since 4 June, 2013, when the vessel was about 370 nautical miles west-north-west of Cape Reinga. Uncrowned queen of the New York Yacht Club fleet, the incomparable 58-foot staysail schooner Niña was designed by Starling Burgess and built on Buzzards Bay at Monument Beach by Reuben Bigelow in 1928. There are seven people on board, six Americans (three men aged 17, 28 and 58, and three women aged 18, 60 and 73) and a British man aged 35.

Fire on board S. A major rescue effort was launched in the Ross Sea in early January when the 51 metre Korean fishing vessel Jeong Woo 2 caught fire. It was the second major incident in Antarctic waters in as many months and involved several Korean fishing vessels, a United States research vessel and a United States Air Force (USAF) aircraft. Jeong Woo 2’s distress call was picked up by another Korean fishing vessel, Hong Jin 707. The information was relayed via the New…

Fifty-two survivors have been recovered following the sinking of the inter-island ferry Princess Ashika, near Nuku'alofa, Tonga, late on August 5. However, initial reports that the ferry was carrying 75 people have now been updated to 79 people, leaving 27 still unaccounted for. A Royal New Zealand Airforce (RNZAF) Orion is currently searching the area, with a second Orion scheduled to leave Whenuapai at 8.30am to relieve it. Its ETA is around midday today. Three vessels, including the Tongan Navy vessel, the Pangai, are also on scene assisting with the search. The Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ) launched the rescue response after the Maritime Operations Centre (New Zealand Maritime Radio) picked up a mayday call from the Princess Ashika just before 11pm yesterday.

Maritime New Zealand (MNZ) and the Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ) are monitoring the status of the cruise liner Pacific Sun, which is currently holding position about 300 nautical miles (540km) north east of New Zealand.The vessel’s crew reported that 42 passengers have received medical attention after the vessel was hit by the severe weather conditions and suffered a sudden heavy roll around 8pm last night. The vessel, carrying 1732 passengers and 671 crew, was en route to Auckland following an eight day cruise in the South Pacific. RCCNZ is in communication with the vessel and has requested regular updates as to its status. The vessel has not reported that it is in distress.