BRISBANE, Australia: The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said this week that three people on board an inflatable catamaran were rescued after several sharks attacked and damaged their vessel.
The attack on the Tion, a nine-meter inflatable catamaran on a round-the-world expedition, occurred on the Coral Sea off the northeast coast of Australia on September 6.
The vessel was located about 519 miles southeast of Cairns.
In a statement, the AMSA said, "The vessel departed from Vanuatu and was bound for Cairns, Australia when contact was established. Both hulls of the vessel have been damaged following several shark attacks."
AMSA requested the assistance of a Panama-flagged vehicle carrier, which successfully conducted the rescue of three passengers, two Russians, and one French citizen, who were due to arrive in Brisbane the day after the attack.
Anna Kosikhina, a spokesperson for the voyage, said, "They were all intact. Nobody is hurt. The only thing is that the balloons of the inflatable catamaran were blown away."
"This was not the first accident on the voyage. The steering device of a previous vessel failed during a previous leg from Chile to Easter Island," she added.
