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SYDNEY - Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) investigators are interviewing crew from the seismic survey vessel Geo Sounder after a New Zealander was lost overboard off the Queensland coast on Saturday.
The man, 46, fell overboard about 5.30am (NZT) on Saturday, about 285 nautical miles north-east of Cairns, Australia's Maritime Safety Authority (MSA) said.
A day-long air search, with assistance from merchant ships in the area, failed to locate the man and was called off late on Saturday.
Queensland police and the ship's Norwegian operator, DOF Subsea, were both yet to name the man or provide any further details today.
An Australian spokesman for DOF Subsea said they were still piecing together what happened.
ATSB team leader of maritime investigations, Michael Squires, said two marine investigators were interviewing crew members in Cairns after the Geo Sounder arrived there at 4am (NZT) today.
Mr Squires said the Geo Sounder was bound for Singapore from a New Zealand port when the incident happened.
He said details were "a bit vague" and wouldn't comment further until the investigation was completed later this week.
"We've had preliminary talks with the ship's master and the crew to ascertain exactly what happened," he said.
Mr Squires confirmed another crew member suffered a fractured ankle during the launch of a recovery boat in an attempt to locate the man overboard.
Tracey Jiggins, of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority said "the crew saw him go overboard and they threw out life preservers and lowered a boat almost immediately to try to find him." she told NZPA .
Maritime Safety was asked to provide a twin-engine Dornier aircraft with an infra-red camera system to search in the morning and the afternoon of Saturday.
The search was called off by the Geo Sounder's captain as darkness fell Saturday evening and the vessel headed to Cairns to seek treatment for the man who broke his ankle.
Asked why the search was suspended when people could stay alive for several days in sub-tropical waters, Ms Jiggins said she did not know "but there may have been other factors involved".
Clients in the oil and gas industry, the cable sector and government agencies use the Geo Sounder.
- NZPA
