The search for a crewman lost overboard from the 17,859 tonne Liberian-flagged bulk carrier MV Sea Amity off the Queensland coast on Tuesday night has been suspended, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) announced today.
The ship left the port of Townsville and was heading south past Fraser Island when the crew member went missing around 10.20pm. However AMSA was not notified until following morning. After a brief search the ship continued its voyage to Newcastle where it is currently at anchor.
AMSA co-ordinated the search in moderate conditions, with six helicopters, three planes, a police vessel, and volunteer marine rescue vessel covering 820 n mile2. It also issued a broadcast for other ships in the area to keep a lookout.
The search was suspended at last light yesterday on expert medical advice. The seafarer is presumed dead.
An AMSA spokesperson told IHS Maritime that state police would board the vessel tomorrow morning when it arrived in port to investigate.
“AMSA will also be attending the vessel when it gets in,” she said. “That’s in relation to ship safety and the timing around the reporting of the missing man. We were notified on Wednesday morning and the man was last seen on Tuesday evening.”
This post was sourced from IHS Maritime 360: View the original article here.