Platino recovery operation well underway as crew arrive in Auckland

by Sail-World.com NZL on 16 Jun 2016 An 23.5mtr ocean-going tug left Whangarei late on Tuesday night to locate and attempt to salvage the luxury yacht Platino which has been abandoned 550km NE of New Zealand. At her last position she was making 7.5kts

In a statement issued last night to Sail-World, the NZ Police said they were 'acting on behalf of the Coroner to recover the body of a person on the yacht Platino, north of New Zealand.'

NZ Police Auckland City District Manager Operations Support, Inspector Vaughn Graham, says a maritime officer is on board a tug boat which left Whangarei late Tuesday night to recover the body.

“We are using coordinates from an emergency beacon on the yacht which will monitor the location of Platino. Weather dependent, we could reach Platino by Saturday and have the yacht and body of the person on board back in New Zealand early next week,” says Inspector Graham.

“We’re in communication with their families and supporting them. At this stage, we’re not in a position to confirm the name of the deceased or the person reporting missing overboard,” says Inspector Graham.

The three survivors from the Platino arrived in Auckland last night on the container ship Southern Lily.

The NZ Police say no further information is available at this stage.

At last report, 24hrs ago, the Sea Pelican was making 7.5kts in the direction of the Platino and was expected to rendezvous with the stricken luxury yacht on Friday given good weather conditions, however according to Predictwind conditions in the area are still an Easterly wind of 23-27kts with an 11ft swell from a southerly direction.

In calm conditions the 300nm voyage was calculated to take 40hours, that is not likely to be the case in the conditions. Winds are only expected to abate slightly in the next few days, with the wind swinging to a SSE direction, and be more aligned with the swell.

The sea state is only expected to drop a couple of feet to 8-10 ft with the wind change, making for a slow tow back, if indeed that is possible.


Platino, a 66ft Ron Holland design, was abandoned on Tuesday afternoon after an incident at 1100hrs on Monday (NZT) when her main boom struck a backstay taking out the rig. One crewmember, Nick Saull, died as a result of the incident and another was lost overboard clad only in light clothing and without a lifejacket.

The air search for the missing crew member was called off Wednesday afternoon, after being suspended on Tuesday evening (NZT).

The Southern Lily with three crew rescued from Platino, berthed in Auckland around 0100hrs on Thursday morning (NZT).