The Australian Search And Rescue services have reported an attack on a catamaran by a group of white sharks. The violence caused severe damage to the boat, forcing the crew to call a MayDay before being rescued, in extremis...

The passengers of a Russian expedition catamaran were attacked by a group of white sharks off the coast of Australia. En route from Vanuatu, the vessel was rescued in the middle of the Coral Sea, 500 NM south-east of Cairns.

Heavily damaged at the float level, the boat was slowly sinking by the stern when the rescuers were able to intervene, guided by an EPIRB beacon.

Tion, the catamaran in question is a rather unusual type of craft, measuring nine metres and fitted with two inflatable tubes.

The three passengers, Evgeny Kovalevsky, Stanislav Beryozkin and Frenchman Vincent Beaujeau, were planning a round-the-world voyage in the footsteps of the famous Russian explorer Kruzenstern.

This was not the first time the unfortunate crew had been frightened: a first catamaran of this type had already been attacked and destroyed by sharks off the coast of Chile.

The second boat, which is the subject of this article, had also been attacked and perforated in Tahiti in June...

The courageous adventurers will stop at nothing to complete what is supposed to be the longest expedition aboard a catamaran with tubes.

Perhaps it's just a pretext for young Russians who are prepared to do anything rather than be forced to take part in operations in Ukraine. But Sir Ernest Schakleton himself had left Great Britain a few days after the outbreak of the First World War! Let's not cast stones at them and salute their tenacity: three attacks by large sharks is not a common occurrence...