Thursday, April 3, 2014

Italian Amver tanker, amateur radio operator help save 3 sailor

Three sailors were rescued from their 42 foot sailboat after it began taking on water near Panama on Monday, March 31, 2014.

U.S. Coast Guard rescue authorities at the Eleventh District command center received an Electronic Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) alert for the sailing vessel Even Star which was on a voyage from California to Panama with three people on board.

Coast Guard rescue personnel queried the Amver system and identified the Liberian flagged tanker Glenda Meryl near the location of the sailboat. Using the Amver ship and the help of an amateur radio operator, rescue personnel were able to divert the 600 foot tanker to the exact location of sailboat approximately 30 miles south of Panama.

The captain of the Glenda Meryl had the crew lower a lifeboat. The rescue party was able to quickly embark the three yachtsmen and bring them aboard the tanker. The survivors were not injured and the sailboat was left adrift.

The survivors were taken to  Balboa, Panama and met by Panamanian authorities.

The Glenda Meryl, managed by d'Amico International Shipping, enrolled in the Amver system on February 21, 2011 and has earned one Amver participation award.

Photo credit: marinetraffic.com

No comments: