A Chinese chemical tanker located a sailboat missing on the U.S. East Coast, ending a three-day search and rescue mission.
The sailboat was reported missing on December 11, with the US Coast Guard beginning urgent marine information broadcasts and direct communication with commercial vessels in the area.
To strengthen the mission, USCG deployed three aircraft crews, two helicopter crews, and the vessels USCGC Oak, USCGC Richard Snyder, and USS San Jacinto.
It also requested assistance from multiple commercial and recreational vessels along the U.S. eastern seaboard, while the U.S. Navy’s Second Fleet was also contributing to the search.
After three days, the search area expanded from Northern Florida to the waters east of New Jersey, involving also the Coast Guard Atlantic Area Command Center.
USCG managed to piece together the movements of the boat, reporting that it was transiting from Cape May, New Jersey to Marathon, Florida with several port calls planned along the journey.
Searching their logs, the US Coast Guard determined that on November 29, the sailboat ran aground upon entering Rudee Inlet, near Virginia Beach, Virginia.
In fact, USCG had helped refloat the sailboat, saying that there was no damage reported. The boat was last seen on December 3, sailing near Oregon Inlet, North Carolina.
In the meantime, the tanker Silver Muna was on the last day of a two-week journey from the Netherlands to New York, when on December 13, it located the sailboat. It had no fuel and power, which made its radios and navigation equipment inoperable.
The crew of the tanker brought the two men of the sailboat aboard, where the tanker’s medical staff evaluated that they were not in danger.
