At 4:50pm (AEST) this afternoon (Friday) the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) received an emergency beacon signal from a solo sailor on board a Queensland registered 6.5m sailing vessel in the Great Australian Bight.
The beacon’s position was about 630km west of Kangaroo Island, South Australia, and 740km south east of Esperance, Western Australia.
AMSA has issued an emergency broadcast and diverted one merchant vessel, which is expected to reach the vessel’s location in the morning.
AMSA has tasked our Perth-based Challenger rescue aircraft to the location which arrived on scene around 7:45pm and is now communicating with the sailor by VHF radio.
The aircraft is monitoring the sailing vessel’s situation with a merchant vessel making their way to the location. Weather conditions in the area are severe with winds estimated at 100-110 km/h and seas reported to be 8-9m.
