UK Coastguard helps coordinate rescue of two British rowers in Mid-Atlantic
Two rowers have been rescued in
the Atlantic Ocean when their vessel began to take water after sustaining
a broken rudder.
MRCC Fort de France broadcast a Mayday Relay to nearby vessels in the area to assist. Two vessels responded, the one closest – a cargo vessel only 10 nautical miles away – diverted its course and made its way to the stricken vessel. The two crew are now on board the cargo ship and making their way to Gibraltar.
UK Coastguard received a distress
signal from a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) just after 9am yesterday
morning (9 February) from two British crew on an ocean rowing boat,
located approximately 900 nautical miles East Northeast of
Martinique.
The rowing boat had left
Gran Canarias enroute to Barbados when the crew experienced problems with a
broken rudder, they were also low on food. UK Coastguard were
unable to establish satellite phone contact with the vessel to confirm
the problems but immediately sent the position information of the PLB to the
MRCC Fort de France.MRCC Fort de France broadcast a Mayday Relay to nearby vessels in the area to assist. Two vessels responded, the one closest – a cargo vessel only 10 nautical miles away – diverted its course and made its way to the stricken vessel. The two crew are now on board the cargo ship and making their way to Gibraltar.
Ross Parkinson,
Senior Maritime Operations Officer for UK Coastguard said: “This was
a lengthy and demanding long range rescue taking place 900 nautical miles
from Martinique. The rowers were incredibly lucky that a nearby vessel
was only a few hours away because by the time help arrived the rowing vessel
had started taking on water.
“This incident shows you
how important it is to be prepared for your voyage and have several means of
contacting the Coastguard or raising an alarm, even if you are not in UK
waters. In this case, the PLB (which was recovered at the scene) was able
to give us accurate positioning information, this meant that we were able to
provide MRCC Fort de France with precise details, allowing help to be
diverted accurately. Whilst the incident was unfolding, the UK Coastguard
maintained a watchful eye over the situation regularly liaising with foreign
authorities.
“Our priority is to
protect life at sea and we will always do everything possible to provide
assistance for a mariner in need. In the event we can't get there
ourselves, we do our best to identify someone who can which is exactly what we
did in this case. Two vessels responded to the Mayday Relay broadcast
that was issued – one 10 nm away and one 100nm away - largely as a result of
the remote area the incident was in. Thankfully the rowers are now on
board the cargo ship and are reported to be safe and well.”