Tag Archives: F/V Night Raider
Tribute – Wake held for skipper who mysteriously disappeared at sea
A wake has given closure to friends of a Coast fisherman who is believed dead after his fishing trawler disappeared off the Fraser Coast late last year. Grant Sainty, 60, was skipper of the Mooloolaba-based Night Raider which mysteriously vanished along with fellow fishermen, Port Macquarie father-of-six Doug Hunt, 38, and another man aged 24. The tragedy began to unfold on November 11 when the trawler left Urangan, in Hervey Bay, about 9.45pm. Between 80 to 100 people showed up to former fisherman Jeffery Davis’ home to pay their respects and share stories. click here to read the story 11:14
Sister of missing Night Raider fisherman wants answers, asks why search didn’t start sooner
The prawn trawler departed Urangan, at Hervey Bay, on November 11 and headed east before the trawler’s Vessel Monitoring System, a mandatory system that provides hourly updates on the location of all trawlers in Queensland waters to Fisheries, stopped responding on November 12. Leigh Ann Hunt said that is when a search should have started to find her little brother, 38-year-old Douglas Hunt, along with the two other men aboard, aged 24 and 60, who remain missing. A Fisheries Queensland spokeswoman said while the VMS was not an at-sea safety system, it could be used in search and rescue operations by providing the last known position of a vessel. For the next six days, Fisheries Queensland attempted to make contact with the Night Raider and notified other vessels in the area along with the family of the vessel’s owner. Read the rest here 09:10
Trawler crew vanishes without trace off Fraser Coast
The Sunshine Coast prawn fishing fraternity fears a trawler and its crew that vanished without a trace off the Fraser Coast met a sudden and catastrophic end. The search for Mooloolaba-based Night Raider, which has not been heard from since November 12, was scaled back by authorities on Monday after an extensive operation that involved helicopters, police and volunteer marine rescue vessels and patrols of the shoreline and inlets. Veteran professional fisherman Grant Sainty, 60, has been identified as the skipper and devastated relatives and colleagues say it is out of character for him not to be in touch. Industry insiders told The Courier-Mail their game can be dangerous and a rollover while fishing, sudden sinking or fire could be to blame for the disappearance. One of Mr Sainty’s two crew has been revealed as Port Macquarie father-of-six Doug Hunt, 38, while a 24-year-old man also was on board. Read the story here 10:52
