On 19 February it was reported that the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) had combined its maritime and air assets to conduct a search and rescue operation for two men drifting in a wooden boat 105 nautical miles south of Tonga.
The two men were located by a Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) P-8A Poseidon on the morning of February and were then recovered on board the amphibious and military sealift ship HMNZS Canterbury that evening.
The P-8A had been en route to conduct maritime surveillance operations for illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in the South West Pacific when it was diverted to conduct the search for the missing boat.
Maritime New Zealand’s Rescue Coordination Centre requested the aircraft crew search for the boat after it was reported overdue. The crew on board the 11.5-metre wooden boat named Mysterious Wonder were reported to have left Tongatapu, Tonga on 8 February. Authorities were notified on 10 February that the vessel was missing.
The P-8A crew flew to Fiji to base overnight before starting the search on the morning of 11 February. They found the boat at 1015. The call then went out to Canterbury to rescue the men and bring them to safety.
Commander Wayne Andrew, the Commanding Officer of Canterbury, said the ship launched a sea boat, rescuing the two men late yesterday evening. “This was an excellent combined effort to locate and rescue the crew members,” he said.
Canterbury had recently completed a successful trip to Tokelau supporting Governor-General of New Zealand Dame Cindy Kiro to mark the centenary of New Zealand administration of Tokelau. The ship was en route to the Kermadec Islands before it turned around to assist with the rescue.
The two men were flown to Tonga on a RNZAF NH90 helicopter embarked in Canterbury. The ship will resume passage to Raoul Island, to assist MetService and Earth Sciences New Zealand personnel to carry out upgrade and maintenance tasks of critical weather, tsunami and volcano monitoring equipment and facilities.
Source: NZDF
