Two Australian Navy Frigates Rescuing Stranded Ship

Two Australian Navy Frigates have raced to the aid of a container ship stranded at sea and without power near Christmas Island. Navy engineers have boarded the Panama-registered MV MSC Denisse, which has a flooded engine room and no propulsion. A defence department spokesman said the ship, which has 23 crew on board, was drifting about 40 nautical miles (72km) south-east of Christmas Island, off the West Australian coast. HMAS Arunta's personnel were helping the Denisse's crew pump water from flooded compartments in an effort to stabilise the ship, the spokesman said. "It's basically dead in the water because its engine stopped working and so it was utterly without power on the high sea, unable to look after itself," he said. "Navy engineers are aboard and they're working with the crews engineers to get this sorted out." The defence spokesman said HMAS Stuart, another Frigate, was operating off the coast of north Western Australia and was also on its way to help the Denisse.
AdvertisementHe said the Arunta had been patrolling the area as part of Operation Relex II to intercept and deter vessels with unauthorised people on board.
MV MSC Denisse