Ship involved in French Polynesia cocaine bust now moored in Sydney after distress call
The cargo ship MV Raider was previously intercepted near French Polynesia carrying nearly 5 tonnes of cocaine. (ABC News: Simon Amery)
In short:
The cargo ship MV Raider, previously intercepted near French Polynesia carrying nearly 5 tonnes of cocaine, has been escorted into Sydney Harbour after issuing a distress call over shortages of food and fuel.
French authorities had seized the drugs in January and allowed the vessel and its 11 crew to continue to Australia after the cocaine was dumped at sea.
What's next?
Australian officials say the crew will be held in immigration detention while the vessel is assessed.
A ship that was found to be carrying nearly 5 tonnes of cocaine near French Polynesia earlier this year has been escorted into Sydney Harbour after issuing a distress call.
French authorities intercepted the MV Raider in international waters near French Polynesia in January, and allowed the vessel and its 11 crew to continue sailing to Australia after dumping the drugs at sea.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority says it received a distress call from the MV Raider yesterday, reporting a shortage of food and fuel.
It was escorted into Sydney Harbour on Friday and is currently moored at Snails Bay, which has specialised facilities often used for vessels who have issued a distress call.
The AMSA says it is coordinating the response, including the provision of supplies and safe passage, and is also working closely with Border Force and New South Wales Police.
French naval personnel prepare to board the MV Raider near French Polynesia. (High Commission to Papeete)
Concerns for the crew
The International Transport Workers Federation said it holds concerns for the MV Raider's Ecuadorian and Honduran crew members.
"We've got extreme concerns for them because when we finally got in contact with them they had run out of food," said Ian Bray, the ITF's Australian coordinator.
"They were down to 200 litres of water and there's 11 on board, so roughly 20 litres of water per person on board."
Neither the Australian Federal Police or the Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke have commented on the ship's arrival, but the ABC has been told that none of the men have been arrested.
The crew are expected to be held in immigration detention while authorities check whether their boat is sea-worthy and after that they will be removed from Australia.
Stephen Thompson, a lawyer who specialises in maritime transport law, said Australian authorities have no jurisdiction to take any action over the cocaine seizure by French officials in international waters.
"Assuming there are no longer any drugs on board, you would think that they are at least potentially exposed to potential charges of conspiracy to effect that importation,"he said.
"But given that the actions that go to the making of the conspiracy all occurred, outside Australian territorial waters or outside Australian jurisdiction, it may well be that they've actually committed no crime under Australian law.
"So it's relatively safe for those particular crew to come in."
The Shadow Home Affairs Minister Jonathan Duniam said the boat's arrival exposed weaknesses in border control.
"With the arrival of this drug runner vessel, Labor have again demonstrated they can't control our borders," he said.
"The vessel has been known to be involved in drug trafficking for months and it only came to the attention of authorities after a distress call was made."
Tracking systems have located the MV Raider in the southwest Pacific heading in the direction of Australia. (ABC)
MV Raider headed to new owners in Australia
After being released by French authorities following the January cocaine seizure, the MV Raider docked in the Cook Islands, under a distress call for engine repairs.
According to ship tracking website VesselFinder it then headed for Sydney, changed course for New Caledonia and then swung back towards Sydney again.
Mr Bray said that the crew signed employment contracts in December last year, which detailed that the MV Raider was to be delivered to new owners in Australia.
The ship (captured behind the white yacht) was caught carrying 5 tonnes of cocaine.
"The intent and the job description given to the seafarers was it was to conduct an international voyage from Panama to Australia to deliver the vessel to its new owners," he said.
Mr Bray said he had an address for the new owners but had no further details.
"We've got a system that we can access on vessel movements, and we can look at the last five years of movements on each vessel anywhere in the world," he said.
"And this particular ship only has a record from the 20th of November, 2025. Any other history on this ship is not there. It's invisible."