I read the following story and was surprised by the shark fishing boat captains attitude. I can understand wanting to avoid the bird flu, but I would think that a sinking boat would override that caution. Luckily they were saved by the Coast Guard, but it got me to wondering what I would do in a similar situation. I'd like to think I would have helped them, and I believe I would.
Blue Skies,
Dave
Pirate fishos tried to board our boat
By ERIC TLOZEK
12jan06
DARWIN fishermen fired flares at the crew of a sinking Indonesian ship to keep them from boarding.
Shark boat skipper Grant Nicolias and two of his crew said they believed 10 Indonesian fishermen were trying to board them in rough seas 280km west of Darwin on Saturday night.
Mr Nicolias said the men were standing on the roof of their wooden boat with ropes and were yelling out ``Captain'' to get his attention.
``They were either desperate or stupid,'' he said.
He and his crew shot emergency flares at the Indonesians to scare them away but Mr Nicolias said he realised the boat could have been in trouble.
``They were sitting pretty low in the water,'' he said.
``Those boats don't handle well in big seas and there was a 4m to 5m rolling swell.''
Mr Nicolias said he had driven his boat at full power towards the Indonesian vessel when they got too close. He said he was scared to take the fishermen on board in case they had bird flu.
``There was no way they were getting on board,'' he said.
``I have to protect my crew and my boat first.''
The Indonesian boat circled Mr Nicolias's shark boat Jetline for six hours since first contact at 10pm.
But they left before the arrival of navy patrol boat HMAS Launceston at 7am on Sunday morning.
The Launceston caught up with the boat on Sunday afternoon and sunk it after they had taken its four Indonesian crew on board.
``The vessel was not considered seaworthy and was subsequently destroyed in accordance with standard procedure,'' a Defence Force spokesman said.
The four fishermen were transferred to the HMAS Armidale and brought to Darwin where they were interviewed by fisheries officers on Tuesday.
The boat's captain told officers he had gone to the Jetline to get help because his boat was sinking.
``The Indonesian skipper confirmed he had approached the fishing boat because his vessel had suffered severe storm damage and was in distress,'' a Customs spokeswoman said.
Blue Skies,
Dave
Pirate fishos tried to board our boat
By ERIC TLOZEK
12jan06
DARWIN fishermen fired flares at the crew of a sinking Indonesian ship to keep them from boarding.
Shark boat skipper Grant Nicolias and two of his crew said they believed 10 Indonesian fishermen were trying to board them in rough seas 280km west of Darwin on Saturday night.
Mr Nicolias said the men were standing on the roof of their wooden boat with ropes and were yelling out ``Captain'' to get his attention.
``They were either desperate or stupid,'' he said.
He and his crew shot emergency flares at the Indonesians to scare them away but Mr Nicolias said he realised the boat could have been in trouble.
``They were sitting pretty low in the water,'' he said.
``Those boats don't handle well in big seas and there was a 4m to 5m rolling swell.''
Mr Nicolias said he had driven his boat at full power towards the Indonesian vessel when they got too close. He said he was scared to take the fishermen on board in case they had bird flu.
``There was no way they were getting on board,'' he said.
``I have to protect my crew and my boat first.''
The Indonesian boat circled Mr Nicolias's shark boat Jetline for six hours since first contact at 10pm.
But they left before the arrival of navy patrol boat HMAS Launceston at 7am on Sunday morning.
The Launceston caught up with the boat on Sunday afternoon and sunk it after they had taken its four Indonesian crew on board.
``The vessel was not considered seaworthy and was subsequently destroyed in accordance with standard procedure,'' a Defence Force spokesman said.
The four fishermen were transferred to the HMAS Armidale and brought to Darwin where they were interviewed by fisheries officers on Tuesday.
The boat's captain told officers he had gone to the Jetline to get help because his boat was sinking.
``The Indonesian skipper confirmed he had approached the fishing boat because his vessel had suffered severe storm damage and was in distress,'' a Customs spokeswoman said.