Successful Rescue Highlights Regional Cooperation
13 August 2010The importance of Australia and Papua New Guinea search and rescue cooperative arrangements were highlighted this week in the rescue of 11 people off PNG. On Wednesday 11 August, the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) Port Moresby requested Australia’s assistance in the search for an overdue vessel travelling from Nissan Island to Buka Island with 11 people on board. Last contact with the vessel was on Tuesday 3 August via mobile phone, at which time the vessel was reported to be out of fuel. AMSA’s Rescue Coordination Centre - Australia (RCC) issued a broadcast to shipping and tasked two aircraft to assist in the search - one of AMSA’s dedicated search and rescue Dornier aircraft and a Customs Dash-8. At 12:30am Thursday 12 August, the merchant vessel Brilliant Century contacted the RCC to advise it has successfully rescued the 11 passengers 123 nautical miles south-west of Buka Island, PNG. They were all reported to be in good health. The Brilliant Century transferred the passengers to Misina Island, PNG, on Thursday evening. AMSA would like to thank all agencies, aircraft and the Brilliant Century for the assistance provided during this incident.
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