Pan-Topaz

The "Pan Topaz", enroute from Newcastle to Taichung, saved the crew of the stricken catamaran "One World" off the Sunshine Coast in the morning of May 4, 2014, around 3 a.m. The skipper, the United States mariner Wesley Garner and his crew of three males and one female, were brought ashore at Mooloolaba after a harrowing night. Mr Garner, the owner of the catamaran, had been transporting the vessel from New Zealand to Brisbane, where he hoped to sell it for around $700,000. The boat was 16 NM from the mainland at 2 a.m. when the hull began to fill with water after being battered by 35-knot westerly winds and 3 meter seas in the last leg of our journey. The water was coming over the floorboards, and the crew couldn’t detect where the leak was coming from. They had three bilge pumps working, but couldn’t stop the water ingress. When the "One World"’s starboard engine failed and the situation worsened, a mayday call was the only option. An emergency beacon was set off about 1:30 a.m. The "Pan Topaz" was nearby and came to their assistance. From there, the pilot boat from Mooloolaba was sent to retrieve the crew. The abandoned 50-foot catamaran was likely to have sunk. Garner praised the captain and crew of the "Pan Topaz", who had been very hospitable and were very happy to have helped as they said the last mayday call they had, the crew was never found.

A Myanmar national crew member the "STX Topaz" was medevaced after he accidentally cut off his finger while the vessel was transiting the vicinity waters of Dumaran Islan in Araceli, Palawan on Feb 25, 2013. Reports received by Coast Guard District Palawan (CGDPAL) from Coast Guard Action Center Manila revealed that the accident happened 33 miles north east off Dumaran Island. At 11:45 a.m., CGDPAL directed the "Romblon (SARV 3503)" to depart from her present position at vicinity of Tubbataha Reef and proceed to rendezvous point. At 3:10 p.m. it arrived at the bulkcarrier, and at 4:05 p.m. the patient was successfully transferred on board and tkane to Puerto Princesa City while the bulker proceeded to its next port of call in Tarakan, Indonesia. The patient was immediately transferred to the Palawan Adventist Hospital.