Two sailors have been discovered dead on their yacht, while sailing between Madagascar and Mozambique, off Africa’s south east coast in the Indian Ocean.

The yacht Acteon is a 50-footer registered in France, and was sailing in the Mozambique Channel, around 200 miles north east of Beira, Mozambique.

The two sailors have been named as Deirdre Sibly, 67, of Port Lincoln, Australia, and Frenchman Pascal Mahe. Both are understood to be highly experienced cruisers.

The pair were sailing to Durban, South Africa from Reunion Island, when a distress call was sent from their yacht on Thursday, 27 November, which was received by a cargo ship in the area that alerted French authorities.

Deirdre Sibley, an Australian cruiser reported to have been found dead aboard the yacht she was sailing in the Indian Ocean, in a photo released by her sister Sue Good.

Speaking to The Guardian in Australia, Deirdre Sibly’s sister Sue Good said that the cargo ship approached Acteon but was unable to board the yacht. Two additional vessels then joined the rescue effort, and crew were able to get aboard.

“I had a call from [the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade] at about 10am Friday morning, that’s when they told me someone was able to board the yacht and a man and woman had been found deceased,” Cook confirmed to Guardian Australia.

Speaking to Australian news broadcaster ABC Adelaide, Good was also quoted as saying: “We’re just devastated; she’d been away sailing with Pascal since early June … she was so happy.”

The yacht Acteon, as identified on the Marine Traffic AIS tracking site. Image Fran Solly/Marine Traffic

Piracy speculation

There has been no official indication of a likely cause of death, though some online reports have speculated that piracy may be involved.

The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has confirmed it was “providing consular assistance to the family of an Australian missing in the Mozambique channel”.

A spokesman added: “Our thoughts are with the family at this distressing time.

“Owing to our privacy obligations we are unable to provide further comment.”

Historically there have been numerous incidents of Somali pirates targeting yacht sailors, most high profile of which were the Chandlers, who were kidnapped from their yacht near the Seychelles in 2009 and held captive for over a year before being released in 2011. That same year four American sailors were killed after being hijacked off the coast of Oman.

The Gulf of Aden has been known to be a high risk area for over two decades, although some yachts do still transit the area – 50-60 yachts are estimated to have crossed the Suez Canal in 2023 and 2024.

The reported location of the yacht Acteon when it issued a distress call on 27 November.

The waters further south were previously thought to be lower risk, though a radical Islamist insurgency in northern Mozambique, funded in part by drug smuggling from Afghanistan to East Africa, led to authorities warning of an increased piracy risk in the area from 2020/21 onwards.

The Mozambique Channel is a key shipping route, and also a major oil and gas production area.

Madagascar and the eastern side of the channel were previously considered safer, though Madagascar has also experienced political upheaval and unrest, with a coup in November 2025.

The yacht Acteon is understood to still be adrift. We’ll report more when we have further information.