Tuesday, October 27, 2015

VIDEO AVAILABLE: Viking Supply Ship Saves Sailor and Cat near Alaska

An Amver participating supply ship rescued a French sailor and his cat from a disabled approximately 400 miles south of Cold Bay, Alaska October 20, 2015.

The Frenchman, aboard a 30-foot sailboat, departed Dutch Harbor, Alaska on October 13th and was sailing towards Vancouver when he encountered severe weather and lost his rudder and suffered rigging problems. The sailor activated his Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) which alerted U.S. Coast Guard authorities in Alaska.

Rescue personnel from the Coast Guard 17th District launched an Air Station Kodiak C-130 rescue aircraft and directed the Coast Guard Cutter Munro to get underway from Dutch Harbor to assist the sailboat.

Two nearby Amver participants also assisted. The Shell vessel Polar Pioneer contacted the Tor Viking II, another Amver vessel,  and dispatched the Swedish flagged vessel to assist the yachtsman.

The Tor Viking II battled 40 knot winds and 20-foot seas but managed to safely rescue the sailor and his cat. The survivor and his cat are being transported to Oregon, the Tor Viking II's next port call.


The Tor Viking II, managed by Viking Supply Ships of Sweden, enrolled in Amver on May 23, 2007.

Video credit: USCG video


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