A U.S. Coast Guard aircrew aboard am HC-130 Hercules airplane from Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina, airdrops one weeks worth of food to the disabled cargo ship, Alta, approximately 1,380 miles southeast of Bermuda, Oct. 2, 2018. The Alta became disabled while in transit from Greece to Haiti. U.S. Coast Guard Photo
The U.S. Coast Guard has rescued 10 crew members who were stranded aboard a disabled cargo ship for almost 20 days in the middle of the Atlantic.
The 10 seafarers were picked up Monday by the crew of the USCGC Confidence approximately 1,380 miles southeast of Bermuda.
The Coast Guard says it was notified September 30 that the 250-foot Tanzanian-flagged cargo ship, Alta, became disabled on September 19, while transiting from Greece to Haiti, and were unable to make repairs.
The crew reported that they had enough food for two days and water for 15 days, and that there were no injuries or immediate medical concerns.
An aircrew on an HC-130 Hercules airplane from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City dropped about a week’s worth of food to the crew on October 2, helping sustain the men until help could arrive.
The Confidence is now taking the 10 men to Puerto Rico where it is expected to arrive on Friday.
“We were conducting a law enforcement patrol near Puerto Rico when we were assigned to assist the crew of the motor vessel Alta,” said Cmdr. Travis Emge, the commanding officer of the Confidence. “We traveled over 1,300 nautical miles to get to the disabled ship ahead of Hurricane Leslie’s forecasted track and brought the 10 crewmembers aboard. We are all proud of our part in this coordinated Coast Guard response to rescue this crew.”
The Coast Guard’s Fifth District command center has been working to coordinate with the shipowner for a commercial tug to tow the vessel to shore.
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