The Panama-flagged cargo vessel, LIRA, suffered water ingress sailing through the Tyrrhenian Sea, when the crewmembers issued a distress call, followed by the Italian Coast Guard authorities which came to the rescue.
Specifically, the incident took place in early morning of December 16. The vessel started experiencing issues at approximately 05:00 am in the morning, while transiting some 90 nautical miles northwest from the island of Ustica, Italy.
In light of the incident, the vessel’s crew issued a distress call, citing hull issues and water ingress. Following, they abandoned the ship, which was eventually left adrift.
The Palermo Coast Guard, after receiving the call, launched a search and rescue operation and dispatched two patrol boats and two helicopters in order to locate the unfortunate seafarers. The SAR operation was further boosted by two helicopters from Cagliari and Catania.
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Also, the ferry Eurocargo Napoli, which was sailing close, changed its course after receiving the distress call. The ferry was the one who managed to locate the seafarers and sailed close to launch its lifeboats, resulting to the successful rescue of the seafarers in distress.
Concluding, ARX Maritime informs that the unmanned ship was seen drifting about 80 miles from the coast of Arbatax, Sardinia, while the Italian Coast Guard is continuing to monitor the course of the drifting vessel.
