A foreign supply vessel recently arrived in Australia's Sydney Harbour after its crew issued a distress call saying that they were running low on food and fuel, local news outlet ABC reported on Friday, March 13.
The supply vessel Raider is now moored at Snails Bay. Her crew includes Honduran and Ecuadorian nationals, according to the International Transport Workers' Federation.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said it has been working to ensure that supplies and safe passage are provided to the vessel and its crew.
AMSA said it has also been coordinating with the Australian Border Force and the New South Wales Police Force.
The Togolese-flagged Raider was seized by a French Navy boarding team in the southwestern Pacific Ocean off French Polynesia earlier this year after it was found to be carrying nearly five tons of cocaine.
French and French Polynesian authorities said that the confiscated drugs had originated in Central America and that these may have been intended for distribution in Australia.
ABC said it has been told that the crew have not been arrested, though they are being held in immigration detention while the vessel's seaworthiness is assessed prior to eventual release.
