TSMV CORALITA with Alby Ziebell

Coralita had a 'Commonwealth Survey' certificate and did charter work up the Fly River in PNG (were previous vessels had been lost by sudden 'tidal bores').  Captain Wally Muller's son Roy Muller had an underwater close-shave with a saltwater crocodile unseen in murky river water.

         79 ft. Coralita in good shape when owned by Irene and Alby Ziebell.

Coralita was all set for distant international waters when the boat exploded and sank within seconds (nobody was aboard).  Sabotage or accident?  The charter business can be competitive and cruel to new arrivals. The expensive and nicely printed brochure promoted Osprey Reef in the northern section of The Coral Sea and elsewhere.

New owner Captain Alby Ziebell was a former Tasmanian professional abalone diver with years of underwater experience.    A deal was made with Captain Wally Muller of Yeppoon Qld who was by this time ready to quit after years of pioneering with the scuba dive charters to The Coral Sea.  Coralita had moved home base to Cairns to take advantage of the new international airport.