Overboard Crewmember Rescued After 24 Hours in the Water off Australia

In what is being called nothing less than miraculous, a seafarer who went overboard from a bulker off the Australian coast spent 24 hours in the water before being rescued. The unnamed individual reportedly was able to swim close to shore where he was rescued by a recreational fisherman.

The bulker Double Delight (95,522 dwt) registered in Singapore raised the alarm early on Thursday while it was about five miles southeast of Newcastle. The vessel which is operated by Japan’s Sugahara Kisen was inbound after a voyage that started in Japan on October 19.

The crewmember failed to report for duty and the crew began a search of the vessel. They determined the last time the individual was seen was around 11:30 pm Thursday. Assuming the missing crewmember was overboard, they reported the situation to the Newcastle Harbourmaster who in turn notified the police and the Australian Maritime Safety Authority. 

 

 

A search was launched with two boats dispatched from the volunteer Marine Rescue NSW. They were coordinating with two Water Police boats and implemented a search pattern under the direction of the NSW Police Marine Area Command. They were assisted by a helicopter search team.

A recreational fisherman who is also a doctor was inbound Friday evening when he found a person in the water around 6:30 p.m. The seafarer had swum and was close to shore off a beach south of Newcastle. He was floating in the water. Paramedics were dispatched to the beach and the person was been taken to a hospital suffering from hypothermia.

The bulker was docked in Newcastle as of Friday night with the rescue teams having ended the search.