Nowra, NSW: Emergency assistance after distress signal sent from yacht with two people on board off NSW south coast

A large-scale emergency operation is underway after two people on a yacht send out a distress signal.

The pair on the 19-metre yacht, which is located about 150km off the coast of Nowra, on the south coast of New South Wales, made emergency contact at 12.40pm on Monday.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (ASMA) received the distress alert from the two occupants.

Officials from the Marine Area Command and the Australian Defence Force were informed by the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre that the passengers had activated a distress signal.

The yacht is probably taking on water due to a mechanical problem.

There are no reports of injuries.

A spokesperson for NSW Ambulance told Daily Mail Australia that teams are en route to assist the yacht.

“We sent two of our helicopter teams. They made contact initially but had to turn back due to lack of fuel,” he said.

At 12:40 on Monday, two people on a yacht contacted emergency services

ASMA confirmed in a statement that the crew could not be rescued due to fuel problems.

“Two helicopters hired by AMSA, one from Nowra, another from Wollongong, and a third from Sydney, hired by NSW Ambulance, arrived on scene and were able to make contact with the two crew members on board the yacht,” the message said.

“But they couldn’t get them back because of fuel problems.”

There is also a RAAF C130 aircraft which departed later and made contact with the yacht at 16:30.

“The Royal Australian Navy ships Arunta and Canberra are also en route to the scene,” the NSW Ambulance spokesman said.

HMAS Arunta is expected to reach the yacht around 18:00 on Monday evening.

NSW Police involved in the operation said “officers will arrive at the vessel around midnight”.

Both HMAS Arunta and HMAS Canberra are en route to rescue the sailors (pictured HMAS Arunta during a training exercise in 2022)

Conditions in the region are dangerous.

High winds caused power and telephone outages in Tasmania and Victoria overnight Monday to Tuesday. Wind warnings are in effect for the area on the New South Wales coast where the yacht got into trouble.

Nowra is at the centre of wind warnings for the New South Wales south coast, where gusts of 60 to 70km/h are expected, with gusts of 100km/h on Monday.