A routine island trip turned into a grim clue in the search for nine men missing at sea after Beachouse Resort captain Donald Berabi discovered a partially submerged boat about six miles offshore between Vunaniu and Naboutini in Serua. Berabi, who was returning from a 2pm outing with four tourists on Tuesday, said authorities later confirmed the vessel belonged to the nine fishermen reported missing in recent days — a development that organisers say has deepened an already troubling mystery.
Berabi told reporters he first noticed an unusual flicker on the water while scanning for birds and baitfish to entertain his guests. “I saw helicopters hovering and I explained to the tourists there was a search party for nine missing fishermen. I was so focused on looking for birds,” he said. When the flashing remained in the same spot, he steered his boat toward it and asked his deckhand, Paul Chong Sue, to investigate. “He said it was a boat, so I rushed towards it.”
What they found was a half-submerged hull and silence. Berabi said they towed close enough to discover the outboard engine and the boat’s name, though the lettering had faded and the rubber on the side had been torn. “I couldn’t believe it when we came upon the boat, just the engine and the boat. It made me really sad,” he said. They drained water from the hull and made the unsettling find of a man’s underwear lodged in a hole and apparently being used as a makeshift stop cork.
Berabi also noted the anchor rope was out, and the motor was raised — details that suggest the vessel had anchored before something went wrong. “The engine was up but there were no scratches to indicate it went on a reef. It looks like they anchored somewhere and the rope broke,” he said. He added that the boat “must have taken a battering” because its name was faded and the external rubber lining was damaged, but there was no clear evidence of grounding.
Authorities subsequently confirmed the vessel matched the boat belonging to the nine fishermen who were the subject of a multi-day search involving aircraft and surface craft. Officials have not yet provided details on any further evidence recovered from the scene or on whether any of the missing men have been located, and an investigation into the circumstances that left the vessel adrift is under way.
The discovery raises fresh questions about what happened to the crew. The presence of an improvised cork suggests a rapid attempt to stop water ingress; an anchor line trailing from the hull could indicate the boat had been secured when it started taking on water, or that the rope gave way under stress. For Berabi, the sight was both sobering and full of unresolved hope. “It was heartbreaking when they told me, but I hope the missing anchor rope means they were somewhere close to shore and are safe somewhere,” he said.
Search teams continue operations in the area while authorities piece together the timeline that led to the boat being found mostly submerged. Local communities and relatives of the missing men remain on alert as investigators seek to reconcile the vessel’s condition with eyewitness accounts and any electronic or navigational data that may be available.