06 December 2005
The Rescue Coordination Centre NZ is searching for an overdue commercial fishing vessel with three people on board. There has been no contact with the crew since they left Nelson on 22 November.
An Air Force Orion left Whenuapai at midday today to search a 90,000 square kilometre area from Banks Peninsula to Castlepoint, up to 150 miles offshore.
The 13-metre-long vessel, Mi Jay, was expected to be heading for fishing grounds off the Canterbury coast, and arrive back in Nelson within two weeks. The owner of the vessel contacted RCCNZ at 9am this morning to report his crew to be overdue.
RCCNZ Mission Coordinator John Ashby says the Centre is concerned as the crew haven’t been in contact for two weeks, and they haven’t responded to broadcast messages.
“Normally you’d expect some communication between the skipper and owner. But despite them having good communications equipment on board – VHF and HF radios and two distress beacons – there’s been no contact.”
“Since 10am this morning we’ve been broadcasting to vessels around New Zealand’s coast and offshore, but so far there have been no sightings of the Mi Jay. Clearly, we need to ensure the crew are safe. If they’re not safe, we need to find them as quickly as possible. An Orion with radar equipment on board is the best tool for the job, as it can cover a large search area quickly,” he said.
The Orion is searching for four hours today. If the vessel is not found today, tomorrow RCCNZ will continue to broadcast messages and gather more information before deciding on the next steps.
For further information contact:
Maritime New Zealand Media Line
Phone 04 499 7318
