by Mat Churchill

Operators of Haba, the eye-catching multi-million dollar catamaran, were in meetings for most of yesterday to plan a way forward after their vessel sunk in the early hours of Sunday morning in Meridien Marina.

Emergency services were called to the scene at around 1am on Sunday morning, and while no one was on board at the time, an amount of diesel leaked from the vessel into the Marina before being cleaned up by local fire crews.

A Criminal Investigation Unit from Mossman will look into how the vessel took on water, but Haba owner, Bruce Funch, does not suspect foul play.

"All efforts we have made to date have been around saving the environment by securing fuel tanks and chemicals we had on board," he said.

"The salvage is in the hands of the insurance company. The investigation will start after the boat has been removed from the water and taken to Cairns."

Mr Funch said the result of the investigation may not be known for up to ten days.

Sergeant Damien Meadows from Port Douglas Police said the dive vessel could remain semi-submerged in the Marina for the next two days.

"The recovery is complex because it's such a large vessel. We need to make sure we get the right equipment up here," he said.

The future of many of Haba's staff may rest on whether a suitable replacement craft can be found.

"We're investigating a replacement vessel to lease or buy. We are working through things with staff and crew as to how it will work," Mr Funch said.

Mr Funch added that if no replacement can be found, the building of a new boat could take six to twelve months.

He said that he had received a number of phone calls from the community offering support.