Photo By Matthew Montgomery | Rescue personnel and crew members from the MT Nord Nightingale prepare two German...... read more read more
ATLANTIC OCEAN – A Military Sealift Command contracted ship diverted from their mission to perform a rescue at sea mission on July 7. The vessel, MT Nord Nightingale, was in transit in from Houston, Texas, to Europe when they helped save two German sailors stranded at sea off the coast of Florida.
“The crew did an excellent job of redirecting their focus and assisting with rescue operations when we received the distress call,” said Capt. Nicolae Gainuse, MT Nord Nightingale master. “You never set out on a delivery mission thinking you’re going to be saving people at sea, but fortunately we were in the right place to provide assistance.”
The distress call was received by the ship at approximately 3:08 p.m. (12.08 utc), at which point they called the Maritime Rescue Coordination Center in Miami for additional details. Gainuse then called the Health Safety Security Environmental Quality division of Thome Ship Management, the vessel’s owner, and received full support to proceed with recovery operations. Less than 20 minutes after the distress call, the crew was changing course and preparing for the new mission.
“It took us almost five hours and 54 [nautical miles] to locate the stranded personnel,” said Gainuse. “During that time, I was working with the MRCC in Miami to confirm helicopter and medical personnel support. We also assigned duties to the crew, established lookouts and prepared the ship for the upcoming operation.”
The life raft carrying the two stranded sailors was located around 8 p.m., and within an hour aircraft was dropping rescue personnel into the water for recovery. Once the stranded personnel were aboard, the crew ensured all rescue team members, to include inflatable boats and military equipment, were brought aboard before heading to the Florida coast.
“When we got close enough, helicopters recovered personnel from the ship and began removing the recovery personnel and equipment. We were able to resume our voyage about 2 a.m.,” said Gainuse. “I can’t say enough about the professionalism of the crew during the long operation. We train for scenarios like this hoping we never have to execute, but it’s rewarding to see it all come together when it counts.”
| Date Taken: | 07.14.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 07.14.2017 06:30 |
| Story ID: | 241126 |
| Location: | ATLANTIC OCEAN |
| Web Views: | 229 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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