Tag: Search and Rescue Operations (SAR)

All passengers were rescued A high-speed ship carrying 175 passengers was damaged by waves when it was off the central province of Binh Thuan Tuesday, but all the passengers were rescued, according to local border guards.The incident happened when the Hoang Phuc No.01 was carrying the passengers and ten tons of goods from the Phu Quy Island to Phan Thiet Resort Town, said the Binh Thuans Border Guards Headquarters.It was about ten sea miles from the island when waves broke the left side of the ships prow, they said, adding that the broken part covered about two square meters. The front windows were also broken, allowing water to flow into the passenger hold.The passengers were panicked and asked for help, but they were soon rescued by local border guards, while the damaged ship was towed to the safety, according to officials.Initial information showed that the ship was bought by Hoang Phuc Co. Ltd, headquartered on Phu Quy Island, from the southern province of Kien Giang for operating on the route Phu Quy Phan Thiet on Tet (Vietnams Lunar New Year that fell in February).However, due to some technical problems, it wasnt put into operation until that day. Before the accident ...

93 people have been rescued safely - search and rescue continue Rescuers have found 27 bodies and temporarily stopped searching for scores missing after a wooden ship sank in waters off South Kalimantan province on Monday, rescuer said on Tuesday.The accident took place more than two hours after the ship with more than 100 people on board departed from Tanjung Dewa of the province at midday, Head of Search and Rescue Office of the province Rusli Ansyah told Xinhua over phone from the province.The ship was heading to Sorongga, he said."We have found 27 bodies until today (Tuesday)," said Ansyah.As many as 93 people have been rescued safely, he said.He said that seach and rescue will resume on Wednesday at 08:00 a.m. local time after the rescuers, comprising of those from local search and rescue staff, police, navy and volunteers, temporarily stopped looking for the victims at 17:00 p.m.local time on Tuesday."We will search again tomorrow morning, the number of the missing is still unknown, but we believe that there will be still scores of those go missing as the number of passengers exceeds that at the manifest," he said.According to Ansyah, there is no official data about the manifest ...

74 people have been rescued safely Rescue workers are looking for more than a dozen people still missing after an overcrowded ferry sank off the Borneo coast. Indonesian officials said at least 18 people had drowned in the incident off South Kalimantan.Officials told reporters that the wooden ship was over-crowded, carrying four crew and more than 100 passengers. Shipping is a main form of transport across the archipelago and accidents are not uncommon.The boat had departed from Tanjung Dewa and was heading towards Serongga, officials said."So far we have found 18 bodies. As many as 74 people have been rescued safely," said the head of Search and Rescue Office of the province, Rusli Ansyah.The cause of the accident is unknown. Offcials said there was strong waves and wind when the boat sank late on Monday.Indonesia comprises of more than 17,000 islands.Overcrowding, high seas and poor safety standards have caused many fatal accidents.Source: BBC

The order is a technological breakthrough for Neptun In more good news for the German shipbuilding industry, Neptun Werft in Rostock-Warnemuende has beaten off stiff international competition to win a Government order worth 124.4 million for a new research ship.Tom Todd writes: The Baltic coast yard, a subsidiary of cruise ship builder Meyer Werft in Papenburg, will build a same-name replacement for the research ship Sonne, one of the biggest and most efficient ships in the German research fleet. Built in 1969 for fisheries work and converted for research in 1977, the 97.6m veteran is due to leave service in 2015.The newbuilding will reportedly be completed in 2013 with the Indian and Pacific oceans her main areas of service and with Wilhelmshaven as her home port. Berlin will pay 90% of the building cost and the German coastal states the remaining 10%.The order is a technological breakthrough for Neptun, once Germany's greatest shipyard. It has specialised in inland cruise ships of late, and in May booked its 16th such newbuilding and secured options for two more.The research ship order has actually gone to a new deep-sea research firm called the Tiefseeforschungsgesellschaft, which is made up of Meyer Werft and the ...

Passengers were evacuated and transferred to refugee camp near Tunisia-Libya border Tunisia's coast guard launched Wednesday operations to rescue some 700 would-be immigrants trapped on a fishing boat that stalled off the country's coast, the official TAP news agency said.The boat is believed to have set sail from Libya and was en route to Italy, the report said. Its passengers, which include women and children, are mostly of sub-Saharan African origin.Passengers alerted Tunisian coastal authorities after the boat stalled some 20 miles off the Kerkennah islands in southern Tunisia on Tuesday, TAP said. Because of difficult weather, the rescue operations couldn't begin until Wednesday morning.Passengers were being evacuated aboard inflatable rafts and are to be transferred to the Choucha refugee camp near the Tunisia-Libya border. The camp is providing shelter to sub-Saharan Africans and others who have fled months-long conflict between Libyan ruler Moammar Gadhafi and rebels.Meanwhile, Italian officials seized a yacht said to have belonged to the family of former Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who was deposed in a popular uprising in January.The 14-meter (45-foot) vessel, the Atlantique 43, was anchored in the port of Italy's southern island of Lampedusa when it was seized by financial ...

Threatened being dashed against rocks on the Mull of Kintyre The Sceptre and her five-strong crew flashed an SOS as she drifted helplessly in strong rip tides and rough conditions towards the shore.The mayday was picked up by the 1bn destroyer, currently in the middle of her second period of sea trials off the west coast of Scotland.The Type 45 was fortunately just six miles away from the yacht at the time and just 25 minutes after picking up the distress call, Dragon was able to put her sea boat in the water to offer assistance.Five minutes later and the boat had a tow line across to the yacht. For the next 16 minutes it struggled amid high waves and a strong tidal race to haul the Sceptre until the tow parted.A second line was thrown across as the RIB fought the elements to save the yacht from being smashed until the Campbeltown lifeboat arrived on the scene to take Sceptre to safety in the small fishing port.Dragon has a mixed RN/BAE Systems crew aboard as she undergoes her extensive trials and the same counted for her sea boat, driven by AB Brigs with BAEs Willy Brownless and Robert Allen ...

Member of the crew of Velopoula tank The Coast Guard suspended its active search Monday evening for the motor vessel Velopoula tank ship mariner who reportedly fell overboard 135 miles north of Samana, Dominican Republic, Saturday.The decision to suspend a search is very difficult when someone is still missing at sea, said Capt. Ed Pino, commander of Coast Guard Sector San Juan. Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the missing mariner during this difficult time.Coast Guard rescue crews launched an aerial and surface search Saturday for the 24-year-old Greek mariner after Coast Guard Watchstanders in Sector San Juan received a satellite communication from the master of the 748-foot Velopoula reporting the incident.The mariner reportedly was last seen at 12 p.m. Saturday and was noticed missing four hours later.Units involved with the search included:Coast Guard Air Station Miami HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft crewsCoast Guard Air Station Clearwater, Fla., HC-130 Hercules aircraft crewsThe crew of the Coast Guard Ccutter FarallonCoast Guard searches totaled more than 3,600 square-miles, or roughly the size of the island of Puerto Rico.Coast Guard Cutter Farallon is a 110-foot patrol boat home ported in San Juan.Source: Coast GuardNews

The treaty is of increasing importance as global warming increases The leading nations with interests in the Arctic have gathered in Nuuk Greenland to sign a new Aeronautical and Maritime Search and rescue treaty governing the rescue of persons working in the frigid waters of the north.The treaty is of increasing importance as global warming increases the access of vessels trading and working in Arctic regions. Just this year a Russian icebreaker was deployed through howling winds and heavy snow to rescue icebound ships in the Sea of Okhotskwhere more than 500 seamen are trapped and several incidents involving arctic cruise vessels have been reported in the past two seasons.The nations participating in the treaty are members of the Artic Council, which include United States, Canada, Russia, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Sweden and Denmark, but discussions where also held with indigenous inhabitants of the region. Noticeably missing from the talks are maritime superpowers like China and India, countries without Arctic territories that would, nevertheless, make use of new Arctic shipping lanes which may soon open to vessel traffic. But the Arctic Council has not ruled out the possibility of including these nations in future discussions and will discuss at what level ...

Grounded on a sandbank At 09.45 pm, Liverpool Coastguard received a 999 call, from three men who had become grounded on a sandbank somewhere between Lytham St. Annes and Southport.The men, who were on a three-metre RHIB had no means to navigate, had no lights and only mobile phones to communicate. As the men could not be certain as to which side of the river Ribble they were, Coastguard Rescue Teams from Lytham and Southport were tasked.After firing white illuminating flares to try and locate them, Merseyside Police helicopter offered to assist in the search and located them approximately 2 nautical miles northwest of the old sandworks at Crossens.MRCC Liverpool sent Southport IRB and their two quad-bikes to the position and with the assistance of Southport Coastguard team they transferred the men, one of whom appeared to be suffering from the effects of hypothermia, from their boat back to shore and a waiting ambulance for assessment.It transpired that one of the casualties had been overboard trying to pull the craft into deeper water, this man was transferred to Southport Hospital. Southport IRB later recovered the RHIB to their boat-house.Paul Parkes, Watch Manager, Liverpool Coastguard said:Once again, we would like to ...

A 20 foot fishing boat Two crew members have been rescued from a 20 foot fishing boat after they issued a mayday stating that they were sinking a mile south of Black Head on the Isle of Man.Liverpool Coastguard received the mayday from the Aurora at 16.47, and requested the launch of the Port St. Mary RNLI Inshore and All Weather Lifeboats, along with tasking the Port Erin Coastguard Rescue Team. Another fishing vessel, two girls overheard the mayday and proceeded to the vessel, taking the two crew members on board. Although crew members from the lifeboats attempted to pump the water from the vessel, the ingress was too much and at 17.07 the vessel sank. The crew members from the Aurora were taken back to Port St. Mary, where they were met by the Coastguard Rescue Team.Liverpool Coastguard Watch Manager Su Daintith said:We would like to thank the crew of the vessel Two Girls whose swift response to the Auroras mayday this afternoon ultimately saved both of the crew members lives.Source: Maritime and Coastguard Agency