Two men in their 70s have been stranded on a sailing boat in the Tasman Sea for almost 36 hours after severe weather caused damage to the vessel’s steering and resulted in it taking on a significant amount of water.

About 3am on Monday, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority was alerted by a family member that the boat had come into difficulty due to the weather.

By Monday 5am, the two men travelling from New Zealand to Australia issued an emergency beacon.

On Sunday, the Bureau of Meteorology warned of a deep low-pressure system over the Tasman Sea about 250 km north-west of Lord Howe Island which would lead to strong southerly winds across the area.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the maritime safety authority said the rescue was still ongoing as of midday.

“The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has been coordinating the rescue of two New Zealand crew members from a 14.2m sailing vessel currently 164nm (305km) East of Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea,” the statement read.

“AMSA has responded [with] its Melbourne-based challenger rescue aircraft along with multiple Royal Australian Air Force aircraft which have been overhead since yesterday.”

NSW Police Force rescue boat “Nemesis”, as well as two other merchant vessels, have also been deployed as part of the rescue effort and are expected to reach the two New Zealand men late on Tuesday.

The Lord Howe Island branch of Marine Rescue NSW has also been put on standby.

More to come

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