'Life-threatening situation': two anglers rescued off Swansea

Two anglers have been rescued from a "life-threatening situation" near Swansea.

The fishers called for help after their 5.1-metre runabout had a battery failure near Moon Island in the afternoon of Saturday October 24, Marine Rescue NSW inspector Joel Pemberton said.

Moon Island is a small, rocky outcrop near the entrance to the channel.

The disabled vessel was anchored off the island, with the people on board attempting to restart their vessel," Inspector Pemberton said.

While a Lake Macquarie rescue vessel was headed out to help, the situation worsened.

"The anchor rope on the disabled vessel snapped in choppy conditions, forcing the two anglers to begin paddling away from rocks," Inspector Pemberton said.

Their vessel was in serious danger of being blown onto a bommie, and the skipper indicated they were beginning to fatigue."

When rescue vessel Lake Macquarie 31 arrived, the disabled vessel was about 30 metres from the bombora.

Our crew secured the disabled vessel and checked on the welfare of the two people on board before safely returning them and their boat to Pelican boat ramp, Mr Pemberton said.

Inspector Pemberton praised the efforts of volunteers in carrying out and co-ordinating the rescue.

This successful outcome would not have been possible without the swift response from the Marine Rescue Lake Macquarie Search and Rescue Coordination Centre, where volunteer radio operators managed the situation calmly and professionally.

The Lake Macquarie unit is traditionally one of the busiest Marine Rescue outfits in NSW, conducting hundreds of searches and other operations each year.