Three sailors successfully reached land on Thursday after their catamaran was almost sunk by sharks in the Coral Sea.
Their 30-foot boat, equipped with inflatable hulls, sustained damage from multiple attacks by cookiecutter sharks. Although considered harmless to humans, these sharks caused significant damage to the vessel, with one hull section missing entirely.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority successfully coordinated the rescue operation for the two Russian and one French sailor. They were rescued by a Panama-flagged freight ship and brought to Mooloolaba Harbor on the Sunshine Coast of Queensland.
Footage shot by a rescue helicopter captured the catamaran in the water as it was approached by the large cargo ship.
One of the rescued sailors, Stanislav Beryozkin, speculated that the sharks mistook their boat for a whale. He expressed surprise at the number of sharks, estimating there were around 20 to 30. “There were many,” Beryozkin told Seven News television.
Despite using double-layered material for protection, Beryozkin explained that some of the sharks were able to bite through. The sailors, originally from St. Petersburg, Russia, had embarked on their journey in July 2021 and were sailing from Vanuatu to Cairns when the incident occurred.
Cookie cutter sharks, known for their circular bite marks, typically grow between 17 to 22 inches long.
Joe Zeller, duty manager at the Australian Maritime Safety Authority’s response center in Canberra, credited the emergency beacon for saving the sailors’ lives. He highlighted how the beacon helped pinpoint their location, resulting in a swift and appropriate rescue response.
“The three men were very grateful to be rescued and are in good health,” Zeller said.
The Coral Sea is home to numerous reef sharks and other apex species like tuna and marlin. According to the Australian government, it boasts one of the highest shark populations among survey sites worldwide.
Last year, there was a similar incident where three men were “rescued in the nick of time” by the U.S. Coast Guard after their fishing boat sank off the Louisiana coast. Despite being attacked by sharks, they managed to survive for over a day.
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