At about 7.15am AEST on Thursday, 3rd December 2020 a coastal pilot on board the MT Godam contacted Townsville Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) to report a sighting of two people clinging to a timber plank in the water.
The location for the sighting was about 10km southeast of Sue Islet, Warraber Reef. Conditions were rough with two to three metre swells with around 30 knot winds.
Townsville VTS immediately contacted the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) who tasked its Challenger search...