Four men have been rescued in Bass Strait by a fishing vessel after their yacht sank near King Island, north-west of Tasmania.

The men, from Victoria and Western Australia, used an EPIRB to make a distress call to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority about 2:00am.

Acting Inspector Darren Woolley said the yacht hit a rocky reef on the way out of Grassy Harbour sometime after midnight.

“The skipper and crew made a decision to continue on as they believed there was no damage to the vessel,” he said.

“About two nautical miles from the harbour they experienced their first trouble with steering and shortly after made the call to AMSA.

“They later upgraded their distress call as they discovered that the vessel was taking on water.”

A plane and two helicopters were sent to get them and a local fishing operator also responded to the callout.

He reached them about 5:30am.

“[He] transported them back to shore where police assisted the crew from the yacht ashore and provided them with transport to Currie and made arrangements for accommodation, clothing and communication with families,” he said.

“None of the crew required any medical treatment.”

The $600,000 yacht sank in about 45 metres of water but is not considered a navigational hazard.

Source: www.abc.net.au