By Katalina Siasau
Two Tongan fishermen missing for days in a wooden boat were dramatically rescued after a routine surveillance flight turned into a life-saving mission in the Southwest Pacific.
The men were located yesterday morning by a Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) P-8A Poseidon aircraft and recovered last night by the Royal New Zealand Navy vessel HMNZS Canterbury, the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) said today, 19 February 2026.
The aircraft had been enroute to conduct maritime surveillance operations targeting illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing when it was diverted to search for the overdue vessel at the request of Maritime New Zealand’s Rescue Coordination Centre.
The 11.5-metre wooden boat, Mysterious Wonder, had departed Tongatapu, Tonga, on 8 February. Authorities were notified on Tuesday that the vessel was missing.
After basing overnight in Fiji, the P-8A crew began their search Wednesday morning and located the drifting boat at 10.15am, approximately 105 nautical miles south of Tonga. A call was then made to HMNZS Canterbury to carry out the rescue.
Commander Wayne Andrew, Commanding Officer of HMNZS Canterbury, said the ship launched a sea boat and rescued the two men late yesterday evening.
“This was an excellent combined effort to locate and rescue the crew members,” he said.
“The P-8A crew did a fantastic job locating the vessel in a large search area about 105 nautical miles south of Tonga. We were fortunate to be in a position to be able to assist the two men.”
The men were reported to be fishermen.
The naval vessel had recently completed a trip to Tokelau supporting Governor-General of New Zealand Dame Cindy Kiro during commemorations marking 100 years of New Zealand administration of Tokelau. The ship was enroute to the Kermadec Islands before turning around to assist in the rescue.
The rescued fishermen were flown back to Tonga this morning aboard a RNZAF NH90 helicopter embarked on HMNZS Canterbury.
Meanwhile, authorities in Tonga had not announced that the search and rescue operation was underway this week. The identities of the two men are unknown.
