A coordinated Royal New Zealand Navy and Air Force operation has successfully rescued two men found drifting in an 11.5-metre wooden vessel nearly 200 kilometres off Tonga’s coast.
The pair, travelling aboard the boat Mysterious Wonder, left Tongatapu on February 8 and were reported missing earlier this week.
Their disappearance triggered an urgent search led by New Zealand authorities.
Search Aircraft Diverted Mid-Mission
A Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3 Orion, originally tasked with a maritime surveillance flight targeting illegal fishing activity, was redirected on Tuesday by Maritime New Zealand’s Rescue Coordination Centre to begin searching for the missing vessel.
The Orion crew flew to Fiji to establish an overnight base, beginning their search at first light yesterday. At 10.15am, they located Mysterious Wonder drifting approximately 105 nautical miles south of Tonga.
A photo taken from the aircraft showed the two men standing on the cabin roof, waving a flag to signal their position.
HMNZS Canterbury Turns Around to Assist
HMNZS Canterbury, which had been returning from Tokelau where Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro marked a century of New Zealand’s administration of the territory, immediately changed course after receiving the distress call.
The Navy ship had been en route toward the Kermadec Islands but diverted to rendezvous with the drifting boat. A seaboat was launched to retrieve the two men, who were safely brought aboard Canterbury.
They were later airlifted back to Tonga on an NH90 helicopter.
Rescue Praised as Model Joint Operation
Commander Wayne Andrew, Canterbury’s Commanding Officer, praised the efficiency and coordination shown by all Defence Force personnel involved.
“This was an excellent combined effort to locate and rescue the crew members,” he said.
“The P-8A crew did a fantastic job locating the vessel in a large search area. We were fortunate to be in a position to assist the two men.”
Following the rescue operation, Canterbury resumed its planned mission to Raoul Island, where Navy personnel will support MetService and Earth Sciences New Zealand in upgrading critical weather, tsunami and volcanic monitoring systems.
