A fishing trawler ran aground on its way into Swansea Channel on Monday night, forcing Marine Rescue Lake Macquarie into a late night mission.
A crew was dispatched to the channel entry about 1am after the 52-foot trawler ran aground and then sank while entering Lake Macquarie.
The trawler had been heading north to Newcastle from Sydney when the skipper called Marine Rescue reporting electrical problems and that the vessel was taking on water.
The skipper sought assistance to enter Lake Macquarie but shortly before 1am the radio operator on duty in the base atop Swansea Heads watched the trawler stop as it approached the channel bar.
The skipper confirmed the vessel had hit the bottom of the channel and the motors had cut out.
A crew was dispatched from Pelican with a large pump but the trawler had sunk with water above the gunwales, Marine Rescue Lake Macquarie said.
The skipper was taken to shore and spent the night at the unit's Pelican boat base.
The vessel was still semi-submerged in the channel on Tuesday afternoon. A salvage operation is being organised.
