Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand
Containership Responds for Yacht Fire Rescue
Two New Zealand sailors and their Mexican skipper were rescued from a liferaft 280 kilometers south of Niue after their yacht caught fire just after midnight June 23, Maritime New Zealand reported. The 15-meter U.S.-registered yacht SV Sunny Deck was travelling from Rarotonga to Tonga when a fire in the engine compartment engulfed the vessel. The 36-year-old skipper was on watch, and the two other sailors – both from Hamilton, aged 67 and 70 – were asleep at the time. The crew had no time to dress or grab any equipment before…
RCCNZ Praised for Missing Schooner Search Effort
The search for the missing schooner 'Nina' by the Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ) in June-July 2013 went beyond what many overseas authorities would have conducted, an independent reviewer has found. RCCNZ explain that David Baird, former General Manager of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority’s Emergency Response Division, conducted the independent review at the request of Maritime New Zealand Director Keith Manch. The reviewer found: “In many areas RCCNZ went well beyond the requirements of the SAR Convention and its Standard Operating Procedures…
