Three rescued from shark-bitten catamaran in Coral Sea

A boat carrying three people was rescued from the Coral Sea 835 kilometres off the coast of Queensland in the dead of night after their rescue beacon was detected by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA).

The emergency signal was first detected at 1.30am on Wednesday, and was found to originate from a 9-metre inflatable catamaran with three people on board.

The boat was reportedly on its way from Vanuatu to Cairns when contact was made with emergency services.

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Both hulls of the inflatable catamaran were said to be damaged after "several shark attacks".

AMSA requested the assistance of a nearby freighter ship carrying vehicles and directed them to the source of the distress signal.

The Dugong Ace, a vehicle carrier registered to Panama, was asked by AMSA to go to the source of the signal, while a rescue aircraft was scrambled from its base in Cairns.

The freighter was able to reach the stricken catamaran and conduct the rescue of the three people on board.

Two Russian citizens and a French citizen were brought aboard the freight ship.

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The sinking catamaran, the Tion, was registered to a Russian crew who were attempting to circumnavigate the world.

The boat, belonging to a sailing and exploration group called the Russian Geographic Society, departed from Vanuatu on August 29.

One week after their departure, they were being rescued off the Australian coast.

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After the rescue, the freighter that rescued the crew has since made a course towards Brisbane and is due to arrive in at the port on Thursday morning.

The AMSA said: "This is a timely reminder to always carry a distress beacon while on the water.

"GPS-equipped EPIRBs and personal locater beacons (PLBs) can save your life in an emergency."