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Luxury yacht saved survivors of sunken ferry
The 'Lunaris' participated in an SAR operation on Sep 11, 2026, after the Vanuatu flagged inter-island ferry 'Matui', a former prawn trawler, sank in the waters between Santo and Ambae in Vanuatu. The 'Matui' had set sail with more than 40 passengers and crew members on board from the island of Santo to Ambae at 6 a.m. (LT) and capsized in rough seas at about 9.30 a.m. The search effort did not begin until around 30 hours after the sinking, on Sep 12 at 4 p.m., due to misinformation and confusion about the ship's fate. One man on board was able to swim to Santo to get help from a local diver, who finally alerted authorities that the ship had capsized. The 'Lunaris' joined the search on Sep 12, after receiving an update that dozens of people remained missing following the ferry's sinking. Despite challenging conditions, including winds gusting to 30 knots, three metre high seas and almost total darkness, the yacht's crew located and rescued three survivors, who had spent more than 36 hours in the water. Captain James Carlyle told the guests what was happening and got the vessel ready, life rings with lights, torches and spot lamps positioned around the deck. By around 7:00 p.m., the yacht had the anchor up and was heading toward the search area. The 'Lunaris' had five guests onboard, including three children, as well as the local guide Sandy and 17 crew members. The captain held a constant line with the guide, along with Chief Officer Sen, and Purser Steph who was taking minutes, checking set and drift at various positions and adjusting the search radius and likely casualty positions. The 'Lunaris' began moving slowly into the weather on an easterly heading, where they first heard a shout. Unsure whether this shout was from the own crew or from the wind, the 'Lunaris' slowed down and searched the area, but the crew was unable to see anything and carried on North. They also communicated this to the f/v 'D&D', which had searched the area before heading into port to drop their own survivors off. The 'Lunaris' continued on its way until it reached the southern point of the search area, where it was decided to overrun slightly, before taking a wider 0.8 nautical mile turn to starboard, aiming to conduct a 0.5 nautical mile parallel search port of the original track. This took the ship back to the area where they first heard the shout. Spotlights and torches swept the water and found someone, then lost them almost immediately in the heavy seas. A minute passed that felt much longer. Then they were spotted again. Due to the weather conditions, Captain Carlyle decided not to launch the rescue tender and instead used the current to push the 'Lunaris' ahead and to starboard, while stopping the engines about 20 metres out. The survivors drifted past the starboard quarter, about five metres off. The deck crew of the 'Lunaris' threw lines and life rings, with the vessel pitching and rolling heavily in the dark. The crew managed to get three people aboard, two men and a woman, all adults, all in severe shock. They had been in the water for over 36 hours, holding onto two lifejackets. They got them out of their wet clothes, into dry ones, and into the main saloon, where conditions were calmer, with hot water bottles, blankets and oxygen ready. The guide helped communicate with them and reassure them in their mother tongue. All three were hypothermic; the woman was in worse shape, in severe shock with a swollen, evidently painful jaw. The crew got oxygen on her and IV fluids running and began warming them carefully. As a part of the crew tended to the three survivors, Carlyle made the decision to redeploy and continue searching. Shortly after, he received another call from the deck stating there was a lifejacket in the water, of which he could see someone in it, but no movement. At that point the focus shifted on getting the three survivors to shore, and the Captain radioed the m/v 'Helper 1' to recover the lifejacket if they could. When they reached it, the deceased person slipped out of the jacket as they tried to recover them. Many other ships assembled in the effort to find survivors, with flying doctor Mark Turnbull throwing life jackets and locating survivors through an aerial search of the area. When returning to shore, local vessels were unable to help with the evacuation, and getting the 'Lunaris' alongside would have taken too long with fenders, lines and the gangway. The 'Lunaris' anchored and used the rescue tender to ferry the survivors one at a time to the waiting ambulances. Once they were ashore, the 'Lunaris' turned around and went back out to continue searching. Noumea, New Caledonia, was assisting with the operation, while a French Armed Forces aircraft was deployed on the morning of Sep 13. 12 people were located on that morning. The search was concluded on Sep 18. The government has thanked those involved in the rescue effort, such as Dr. Mark Turnbull, who is based in Torba, and Seremiah, as well as communities, volunteers and seafarers assisting with the coastal search. The government was concerned the vessel had not heeded strong marine wind warnings issued by the Vanuatu Meteorology and Geo-hazard Department on the day it departed. An investigation was to examine why the vessel ignored the warnings and to establish the facts surrounding the accident. An investigation into potential negligence has also been launched. Criminal complaints were laid against the owners, management and master of Tui Shipping, and Vanuatu Daily Post reporting alleges the vessel carried passengers it was never certified to carry and skipped a mandatory pre-departure inspection. The loss appeared to be the result of strong winds and marine warnings not being heeded, and possibly of negligence including overloading of the vessel. After the search concluded 37 people remained missing, with a total of 39 presumed dead, while 14 survivors and two bodies were recovered. The exact number on board stayed unclear for several days. Deputy commissioner for international and legal affairs Lloyd M. Fikiasi put the complement at 53 people on board, while the manifest remained contested: early local reports counted 47, the operation centre was logging 55 aboard with 39 missing midweek. Some people initially registered as missing were later found not to have sailed. Reports with photos: https://www.superyachttimes.com/yacht-news/lunaris-captain-on-rescue-of-three-after-mv-matui-ferry-sinking https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/1355774/one-dead-30-missing-after-ferry-sinks-off-vanuatu https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-19/vanuatu-mv-matui-ferry-sinks-search-rescue-pacific/107159638
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