Navy ship rescues Fijian fishing boat stranded overnight

Royal New Zealand Navy crew members helped a stricken Fijian fishing vessel while conducting fisheries patrols on Tuesday. PHOTO / NZDF

A Royal New Zealand Navy crew has rescued a Fijian fishing vessel that was stranded at sea for 10 hours.

HMNZS Hawea was conducting fisheries patrols on Tuesday, around 28km west of Nadi, when crews spotted two boats anchored and roped together.

Commanding officer Lieutenant Brock West said the team went over to the boats to conduct an investigation.

"One of the boats had broken down just after midnight on Tuesday," West said.

"They asked our team to help but after a quick check they couldn't figure out what was wrong with the boat."

The crew's technician identified a blown fuse and two disconnected relays as the problem and set to work fixing the issue.

West said the fishermen was incredibly thankful after 10 hours stranded at sea.

"They were able to return to port under their own steam," he said.

The Hawea was sent to Fiji in April to help patrol the southwest Pacific country's territorial water.