A cargo ship without electricity and stranded in rough seas in the waters of Royal National Park south of Sydney is now stable.
Portland Bay, which is registered in Hong Kong, left Wollongong this morning, but then lost energy around 7 p.m.
He deployed two anchors to prevent him from entering the rocks near the Royal National Park, but conditions hampered any rescue or repair efforts.
The boat ran aground off the coast of NSW without electricity. (Twitter)
Two tugs have arrived on the ship and another is expected to arrive soon, said incident handler John Finch.
The rescue operation will consist of “slowly” recovering the anchors and then “getting the boat to be towed to deep, safe waters.”
“It will probably take two to three hours, because the ship, when it anchored, unfolded the two anchors,” Finch said.
The conditions are harsh and dangerous and have made rescue and repair work difficult. (9 News)
Tugboats will have to face eight-meter waves during the rescue operation and tow the boat much further from shore.
The plan then is for the marine engineer to do an engine repair with spare parts once the ship is in safe water.
Finch said repairs will take four to six hours and expects the ship to return to course in the morning, but it was too early to tell.
The boat is off the coast near Sydney with 21 on board. (new)
Earlier there was talk of evacuating some of the 21 crew, but now the decision has been made to keep them on board.
“This morning there was an initial plan to evacuate non-essential personnel, but once the ship deployed its anchors and was in stable condition, and did not spend much time drifting towards the rocks, the captain asked to keep his crew on board “. Finch said.
A spokeswoman for the Australian Maritime Safety Authority said it was assisting the NSW Port Authority with the incident.
“The 170m boat, Portland Bay, has lost main engine power this morning and is adrift on Garie Beach. The boat has anchored and is currently in position,” he said.
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“AMSA has commissioned the Essendon Challenger jet to attend the scene, which will provide a communication link and location data.
“A lifeboat has been commissioned in Port Botany.”
Also involved are Port Botany NSW water police tugs, the Voluntary Marine Rescue Service, the Australian Navy and emergency services.