Cruise ship rescues four from disabled boat off New Caledonia

A cruise ship operated by US-based Carnival Cruise Line has successfully rescued the occupants of a small boat that had become disabled off New Caledonia earlier this week.

Carnival Splendor, homeported in Sydney, Australia, was sailing on an eight-night round trip between Vanuatu and New Caledonia when the maritime rescue coordination centre in Noumea informed the crew about a distress call sent from a small pleasure catamaran shortly after 00:00 local time on Wednesday, May 21.

The catamaran's occupants reported that their vessel's mast had broken and the engine had failed, causing the vessel to go adrift.

Carnival Splendor arrived at the catamaran's last reported position around five hours later and rescued the four people and three dogs who were on the smaller vessel.

The rescued boaters included Australian, German, and Italian nationals. They and the three dogs are reported to be in good condition.

The boaters had intended to sail across the Australian coast before heading to Fiji. They will be offloaded in Noumea after the cruise ship arrives there on Saturday, May 24.