No oil was spilled during the event and no one was injured
An Australian naval vessel has helped prevent what authorities say could have been a maritime disaster off Papua New Guinea.
Australia’s Defence Department says a container ship, MV Vega Fynen, lost engine power and was drifting towards a charted reef 100 nautical miles south-east of Port Moresby early on Monday.
After receiving a call for help from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, the patrol boat HMAS Broome, based in Darwin, northern Australia, raced 146 miles to help the stricken ship.
The Defence Department says the crew towed the 13,000 tonne vessel south and back into deeper waters.
Lord Howe Island
The patrol boat crew have been praised by authorities in Port Moresby for averting an environmental castastrophe
Elsewhere off the Australian coast, a ship that ran aground in the harbour at Lord Howe Island has been cleared to return to service.
The 485-tonne MV Island Trader grounded after unloading its cargo eight days ago on the east coast island but was refloated on the evening high tide on Monday.
No oil was spilled during the event and no one was injured.
Source: Radio Australia News