15 rescued off Goat Island

Fifteen persons were rescued from a distressed boat just 15 nautical miles west of Aguiguan Island or Goat Island last Sunday and the case is currently under investigation for possible human smuggling.

According to reports from the Department of Public Safety, the rescue was conducted after DPS Boating Safety received reports of a distressed boat last Sunday afternoon.

Assistant chief of police and acting public information officer Simon T. Manacop said DPS Tinian received a report of a distress vessel south of Goat Island.

Officers from DPS Tinian then initially launched their rescue boat, but had later returned to Tinian due to bad weather conditions that made visibility limited.

At around 1:30pm, DPS Saipan launched its Impact rescue vessel, but had also faced challenges in locating the distress vessel due to weather conditions.

“With coordinated search and response efforts that included the U.S. Navy, a USN-HSC 25 spotted the distress vessel and identified two male occupants on board who required medical assistance. Both persons were transported to the Anderson Air Force Base in Guam and treated. The U.S. Navy vessel and tug boat Triron later located the distressed vessel and transferred two males and 11 females onboard. They were then transported to Charlie Dock, Saipan,” said Manacop.

DPS later learned that of the 15 occupants, three local males were identified as being the captain with two deck hand assistants. The other occupants were all Chinese nationals—one male and 11 females.

Manacop said that upon arrival at Charlie Dock, at around 5am last Sunday, the 13 individuals were transferred to the custody of personnel from the U.S. Homeland Security Investigation for possible violations of human smuggling.

The rescue from the 28-foot vessel was a combined effort of the U.S. Navy, good Samaritans from Cabras Marine Corp., DPS Saipan Boating Safety, and the U.S. Coast Guard.

U.S. Coast Guard Forces Micronesia/Sector Guam Lt. Chelsea Garcia, meanwhile, said the search and rescue mission was a coordinated effort by multiple agencies.

“We thank all partners involved in this critical search effort, including Saipan DPS, DPS Tinian, and the crews of U.S. Navy’s HSC-25, MSC’s Jack Lummus, and Cabras’s Triton. Their collective efforts are invaluable in our mission to locate and rescue missing boaters. The hoist capable helicopter crew and local good Samaritans aboard the other vessels were vital to affecting a timely response and saving lives in this case,” she said.

She went on to say Sunday’s incident was a cautionary tale of overloading vessels.

“We urge all mariners to avoid overloading their vessels and to always check weather conditions before setting out. These transits are extremely dangerous and put lives at significant risk. This is the third significant rescue of this type we’ve effected between Guam and the CNMI since January.”

Garcia, however, didn’t want to comment on the human smuggling issue.

“While this case appears to involve the transit of foreign nationals from the CNMI, we cannot comment further on the ongoing law enforcement investigation.”