Two fishermen were pulled to safety Sunday morning hours after their vessel sank in Tongan waters.
The boat departed Nuku’alofa at 1.30 pm local time on Saturday for the five-hour journey to Fonoifua, north of Tonga’s main island, Tongatapu.
The Tonga Police requested New Zealand assistance after the two men were reported missing. Maritime New Zealand’s Rescue Coordination Centre (RCCNZ) helped by providing drift modelling and search areas.
The drift modelling helped locate the pair after they drifted back from Tau Island towards Ata Island with the prevailing current in a southeast direction,
It turned out that their vessel had capsized near Tau Island before they drifted 35 nautical miles (64.8 kilometres) over approximately 20 hours.
The two fishermen were found alive and well by Tongan Police.
The news comes after a post on Facebook reported that Fonoi town officer was one of the two fishermen.
“Well done to the Tongan Police and RCCNZ for this successful rescue operation – a testament to their dedication and expertise!”, the RCCNZ posted.
Early this year, the New Zealand Air Force P-3K2 Orion crew rescued two Kiribati fishermen who had been missing at sea for six days.
Several agencies across Kirbati, Fiji, New Zealand and the United States were involved in the search and rescue operation.
Maritime New Zealand’s Rescue Coordination Centre helped by providing drift modelling and search areas.
Drift modelling
It is described as a multi-purpose tool that can forecast the trajectory of any object, such as ships, boats, or resources, drifting at the sea surface or in the water column.
Organisations can monitor and manage the model’s performance on their data and artificial intelligence (AI) platform.
The analysis tool provides an estimate of the ensemble spread and the likely impacted areas.
They are among the most valuable tools in managing the coastal and marine environment, marine resources and maritime safety.
