{"id":529100,"date":"2026-07-16T14:12:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T14:12:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/529100\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T14:12:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T14:12:18","slug":"boat-missing-overnight-off-northland-sparks-major-search-and-rescue-operation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/529100\/","title":{"rendered":"Boat missing overnight off Northland sparks major search and rescue operation"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cWe knew the time of departure, that the vessel planned to travel about 60 nautical miles offshore<\/a>, and that there had been one confirmed sighting earlier on [Wednesday] July 15. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat information formed the basis of our search planning,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Overnight, the rescue co-ordination centre worked with its search and rescue partners<\/a> to identify appropriate air and sea assets.<\/p>\n

At first light today, two helicopters from Northern Rescue, an Air Force P-8A Poseidon aircraft, two Coastguard vessels from Tutuk\u0101k\u0101 and Auckland, and the police launch\u202fDeodar III were sent to the search areas. <\/p>\n

About 8am, the P-8A Poseidon located the vessel with the two men on board about 60 nautical miles off the coast of Tutuk\u0101k\u0101, and established radio contact.<\/p>\n

\"AnAn Air Force P-8A Poseidon aircraft found the missing boat about 60 nautical miles out from Tutuk\u0101k\u0101. Photo \/ NZDF<\/p>\n

\u201cThe crew advised they had experienced a mechanical issue but were otherwise okay,\u201d Taylor said. <\/p>\n

\u202f\u201cIt was a great result to find the boat and confirm they were safe<\/a>.\u201d <\/p>\n

The Coastguard\u202fvolunteer unit from Tutuk\u0101k\u0101 was sent to the stricken vessel\u2019s location and crew members were able to get it running again. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey then shadowed the vessel to shore where the rescued crew were met by family,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The crew were found thanks to the co-ordinated air and maritime search, and the rescue co-ordination centre wanted to express appreciation to the other agencies involved.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe police launch Deodar III was part of the search near Tutuk\u0101k\u0101 today. Photo \/ NZME<\/p>\n

While it was a positive result, Maritime NZ reminded anyone planning to spend time on the water to take simple steps to stay safe. <\/p>\n

Taylor said while it was an exciting time of year for recreational fishers with several game fish species running, people needed to ensure their vessels were seaworthy, have a way to call for help and check the marine weather forecast.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone should carry at least two reliable forms of communication, including a distress beacon such as an Epirb or PLB,\u201d Taylor said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you need help, this gives you the best chance of being located quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Key steps on how to be safe on the water are also available on Maritime NZ\u2019s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Denise Piper is a news reporter<\/a> for the Northern Advocate, focusing on health and business. She has more than 20 years in journalism and is passionate about covering stories that make a difference.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cWe knew the time of departure, that the vessel planned to travel about 60 nautical miles offshore, and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":529101,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[95,5532,35631,8532,5760,6101,27513,36175,29819,3331,661,6501,111,43,139,1067,69,6662,17286,6507,15026,675,3406,8527,1870,8207,1865,36330,48471,102],"class_list":["post-529100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-and","tag-boat","tag-coastguard","tag-ended","tag-force","tag-good","tag-helicopters","tag-intensive","tag-involving","tag-launch","tag-major","tag-missing","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-northland","tag-nz","tag-off","tag-operation","tag-overnight","tag-plane","tag-police","tag-recreational","tag-rescue","tag-search","tag-sparks","tag-today","tag-tutukk","tag-vessels","tag-with"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/529100","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=529100"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/529100\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/529101"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=529100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=529100"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=529100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}