Two Men Saved from Boat Fire Near Melbourne

Two men where saved from a thirteen meter flybridge cruiser which went up in flames just over one nautical miles from St. Kilda shoreline, Port Phillip Bay, near Melbourne on 12:10 hours of Wednesday 24 May.  Fire rescue Victoria assisted the boat with a fire suppression vessel, while the two men onboard, a 61 and a 59 year old, who tried to suppress the smoke coming from the engine room, abandoned ship, and after about fifteen minutes in the water where rescued and collected by a military rib who was conducting a training exercise in nearby Williamstown.  The fire was extinguished by about 12:45 hours although the flybridge cruiser was burned down to the waterline at this stage and sank.  The coast guard, border force, and a hospital helicopter also responded to the fire.  According to the initial investigation the fire was triggered from the engine room with a possible mechanical failure igniting it.

The flybridge cruiser in this fire is a Carver 444 Cockpit Motor Yacht as produced in 2001 till 2007.  The 444 Cockpit Motor Yacht was based on the 396 Motor Yacht with the addition of an aft cockpit, with the model receiving updated windows in 2005.  The Carver 444 Cockpit Motor Yacht was replaced by the Sojourn 44.