Help on way for rescued boatie

Steve Freeman

A New Zealander stuck in Vietnam after being rescued from an 11-day ordeal at sea is being helped by a millionaire and an Australian boat owner to get home.

Steve Freeman, formerly of Nelson, and Mark Smith of Adelaide were rescued in huge seas south of Hong Kong on Saturday and taken to a small island off Vietnam's central coast, after the boat they were delivering from Hong Kong to Australia sank.

The men survived on a liferaft for 11 days with no food or water and had to drink their own urine.

They are unable to leave the island because of bad weather and their families are losing hope they will be home in time for Christmas.

Mr Freeman's sister Karen Scowen said the boat's owner had sent one of his employees to Vietnam last night to help the men return home, and her family had provided financial assistance to help obtain a passport, which was lost at sea.

She spoke to the boat's owner last night and he said he was doing as much as he could.

Mrs Scowen said it was unlikely her brother would be home for Christmas as he was still stuck on the island and once he got to the Vietnamese mainland he still had to have a visa and passport organised to leave the country.

Sydney-based millionaire Brett Divine, who Mr Smith worked for, has also said he would do as much as he could to help the men and was considering cancelling a holiday to Fiji, Mrs Scowen said.

"We have been told they will need a lot of financial assistance to get home.

"At this stage they won't be home in time for Christmas. We would rather have him home safe."

The family had been assured a representative from the New Zealand embassy would be meeting Mr Freeman in Vietnam to ensure the process happened as quickly as possible, Mrs Scowen said.

The family had not spoken to Mr Freeman since a brief conversation on Tuesday but Mrs Scowen was hoping to talk to him later today.

- nzpa