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3 fishermen rescued after vessel sinks
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Posted on Aug 29 2011
GUAM—U.S. Coast Guard Sector Guam and U.S. Navy Sea Combat Squadron 25 rescue three fishermen from a life raft adrift in treacherous seas 15 nautical miles northwest of Saipan.
Three fishermen from the 23-foot fiberglass commercial fishing vessel Norma abandoned their boat into a small life raft after the vessel took on water and sank in the early morning hours. Sector Guam received the distress alert from the fishermen’s Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon at approximately 3:30am Sunday local time and immediately requested air support from the Navy.
HSC-25 was on scene and began searching within two hours. Sector Guam continued to update the helicopter air crew with the location of the EPIRB signal throughout the search. At approximately 6:50am, the HSC-25 aircrew spotted a large white cooler and small rigid foam raft with three fishermen inside being tossed by 10-foot seas. There was no sign of the F/V Norma. The HSC-25’s rescue swimmer deployed to assess their condition and to help hoist the three survivors. All three were recovered in good condition and brought to Saipan for medical care.
One of the survivors described the sinking as “almost occurring in an instant, the boat was moving forward, began taking on water and was just gone from right under us.”
The Coast Guard is investigating the cause of the sinking.
Coast Guard Sector Guam reminds mariners that a properly registered 406MHz EPIRB can save your life. Registration information can be very helpful in confirming that a distress situation exists, and in arranging appropriate rescue efforts. If the EPIRB is properly registered, the Coast Guard will be able to use the registration information to immediately begin action on the case. If the EPIRB is unregistered, a distress alert may take as much as two hours longer to reach the Coast Guard over the international satellite system.
Mariners, if you have an EPIRB on board your vessel, confirm it is properly registered today. To register, visit http://www.beaconregistration.noaa.gov/. There is no charge for this service. [I](U.S. Coast Guard)[/I]
