A major rescue operation is underway south of Sydney, with a 169-meter bulk carrier being pushed by wild weather onto the cliffs near Wattamolla in the Royal National Park.
Helicopters and rescue planes have been deployed to the site and a tugboat keeps the boat, Portland Bay, in place a nautical mile offshore between Wattamolla and Eagle Rock.
Portland Bay, a Hong Kong-registered container ship seen in an archive image, is in danger of running aground in front of Wattamolla. Credit: Steven Watkins
Another tugboat from Botany Bay will try to control the cargo ship.
The ship registered in Hong Kong, which has no electricity, has a crew of 21 people.
“This morning, the NSW police force received a notification that the ship had lost energy and was adrift towards the cliffs of the Royal National Park,” a police spokesman said.
An earlier attempt to evacuate part of the crew by helicopter was canceled due to the risk, according to advice from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, police said.
A map showing the drift of the affected cargo ship in Portland Bay off the south coast of NSW on Monday.
A Botany Bay water police tug is expected to arrive around 1 p.m. He will try to tow the boat beyond the shore so that it can come out on its own. It is believed that there is already a tugboat at the scene.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority said it had an overload of an aircraft to provide a communications link to the ship.