Northern Territory Police have towed a skipper and their family to safety after an engine failure out at East Point over the weekend.    

On Sunday, police were notified of a vessel carrying 3 occupants becoming stranded around 6 nautical miles north of East Point. The family had been out fishing when an electrical failure had occurred, rendering the boat inoperable.

Members from the Search and Rescue Section deployed from the East Arm Boast ramp and towed the vessel back to Dinah Beach Boat ramp a short time later.

Senior Sergeant Malcom Marshal said “ The Skipper had all the required safety equipment on board, but this rescue does serve as a timely reminder that everyone on the water should be ensuring their boat is in good working order.

“Whilst they were in possession of a registered EPIRB, the occupants recognised this wasn’t a life-threatening situation and instead chose to contact police via phone, which was the correct course of action.

"Northern Territory Police have responded to several resource intensive search and rescues conducted over the last few weeks. Many of these could have been avoided if the vessels were in good condition and the persons skippering these vessels took the required precautions and had the necessary knowledge and skills to skipper the vessels safely in all weather conditions.

"On a number of occasions commercial vessels and emergency rescue assets including helicopters and police vessels had to be deployed to effect the required rescues.

"This is timely reminder to anyone thinking about going out boating:

• Ensure your vessel is in good working condition.
• Ensure you know the weather and marine forecasts.
• Know your boats capabilities.
• Ensure you know your capabilities as a skipper of the vessel. You are responsible for all the persons on the vessel.
• Make sure you have all of the required safety equipment, and know how to use the equipment.

“The Dry Season has well and truly started and police are expecting more people on Territory Waterways in the coming months, For further information on the marine safety requirements you can contact the Marine Safety branch on 89 247 100 or visit Boating, fishing and marine - NT.GOV.AU