MV Victory rescues survivors out at sea in Papua New Guinea

Pacific Towing (Pactow) vessel, MV Victory last Friday came to the rescue of the nine people that were lost out at sea for almost two weeks.

The dinghy and nine survivors were located 42 nautical miles offshore from Kimbe after an Australian Search and Rescue plane spotted the survivors and dropped supplies for the survivors along with an Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) which was able to give the rescue team the survivors’ location.

Pacific Towing General Manager Neil Papenfus said a number of small boats had been dispatched earlier to rescue the survivors but due to the deteriorating weather conditions had sought shelter at a nearby island. He said the weather was quite bad and because the survivors had been out at sea for almost two weeks, they would be exhausted and hungry.

Mr Papenfus spoke with the National Maritime Safety Authority and then dispatched MV Victory with its five men crew at 14.00 on Friday afternoon.

Mr Peter Wojem who was the captain on board MV Victory said the weather was terrible.

“It was raining heavily and the winds were blowing at 20 to 30 knots and the waves were 2 to 3.5 meters high but we still continued on,” he said.

Mr Wojem said they found the survivors at 17.50, the three women were cold and were huddled under the canvas to keep out the rain and wind while the men were sitting down. 

“They were weak so our crew helped them onboard and gave them something hot to drink before they took a warm bath,” he said.

He said the survivors were very thankful when they arrived on the shores and thanked all the crews onboard MV Victory before being taken to the Kimbe General Hospital.

Words and Picture by SteamShips PR Officer