Aerial Search News

Rescue teams were battling against time on Friday to find a missing Indonesian Navy submarine lost in the Bali Sea with 53 crew, which would be rapidly running out of oxygen if not already crushed by water pressure.Search helicopters and more ships left Bali and a naval base in Java heading to the area where contact was lost with the 44-year-old KRI Nanggala-402 on Wednesday as it prepared to conduct a torpedo drill, with the head of the Indonesian submarine fleet aboard.If the submarine was still intact…

Indonesia's president ordered an all-out effort to find a missing submarine in a race against time to save the 53 crew, whose oxygen supply defense chiefs said would last only until Saturday.Indonesia sent a helicopter and five ships to search waters north of the holiday island of Bali but found no signs of the KRI Nanggala-402, which went missing early on Wednesday during a torpedo drill.“I have ordered the military chief, navy chief of staff, the search and rescue agency and other instances to deploy all the forces and the most optimal efforts to find and rescue the submarine crew…

The sailors aboard a missing Indonesian submarine have enough oxygen to last until Saturday, aboard a vessel that had been in good condition, the country's defense chiefs said on Thursday, as the search for the submarine continued.There were no signs of the KRI Nanggala-402, with 53 crew aboard as of Thursday afternoon, where a search and rescue mission was ongoing in calm weather conditions.Yudo Margono, the navy chief of staff, said that there would be enough oxygen for the sailors to last until Saturday…

Indonesian rescuers searching for a submarine that went missing with 53 people on board found an oil spill on Wednesday near where the vessel dived, authorities said.The 44-year-old submarine, KRI Nanggala-402, was conducting a torpedo drill in waters north of the island of Bali but failed to relay the results as expected, a navy spokesman said.An aerial search found an oil spill near the submarine’s dive location and two navy vessels with sonar capability have been deployed to assist in the search…

ISL Star, a bulk carrier managed by Wallem Group, together with the U.S. Coast Guard successfully retrieved a crew of eight Indonesian fishermen adrift for over a week after their boat lost power in the middle of the western Pacific.The Hallelujar, a 60ft Indonesian-flagged fishing vessel of wooden construction, had been adrift for 10 days when on August 13th the AMVER vessel ISL Star received a message from the U.S. Coast Guard that the crew on board was seeking immediate assistance.

A European Union counter-piracy patrol helped thwart a piracy attack close to Somalia’s east coast on April 22. Late on Saturday evening, EU NAVFOR’s Spanish flagship, ESPS Galicia, received a SOS distress call from the master of Sierra Leone flagged merchant tanker vessel MT Costina to say that his vessel was being attacked by a number of armed pirates in a fast-moving skiff. ESPS Galicia, which was 14 nautical miles away, then launched a SH-3D Sea King helicopter and sailed full speed toward MT Costina.

The search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 is commencing a new phase and will transition over the coming weeks to an intensified undersea search, informs the Joint Agency Coordination Centre. In the meantime Bluefin-21, which has completed its search of the 314 square kilometre area around the detections made by the Towed Pinger Locator, will continue to search adjacent areas. Mission 17 will commence when weather conditions improve allowing Bluefin-21 to be safely launched from Australian Defence Vessel Ocean Shield. Ocean Shield will remain on station supporting Bluefin-21 search activity. Over the coming days the vessels that remain on standby for the search will transition to and from the search area. A Royal Australian Air Force AP-3C Orion also remains on standby in Perth.

Photo update: sunken MV Albedo lifeboats sighted from the air on Somali beach. An EU Naval Force warship and Maritime Patrol Aircraft closed the scene to search for survivors. During the aerial search, EU Naval Force Maritime Patrol Aircraft sighted two life boats on a Somali beach approximately 14 miles north of the position of the Albedo. No members of the MV Albedo crew or pirates were sighted in or near the lifeboats. "MV Albedo sank during the night on Saturday 6 July 2013. The vessel had been held by armed Somali Pirates since 12 November 2010.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) issued a media release stating that it coordinated the rescue of 77 persons from waters north of Ashmore Island after their vessel broke up. The individuals are being transported to Christmas Island. “The Australian Maritime Safety Authority has coordinated the search and rescue of 77 people following after their vessel broke up 60 nautical miles north of Ashmore Island. At approximately 3 p.m. AEDT on Wednesday, a Customs and Border Protection Dash 8 aircraft was conducting routine patrol in the area when it sighted what appeared to be a broken up vessel with a number of people in the vicinity in the water.

Kearsarge Expeditionary Strike Group (KSGESG) assisted in the rescue of three mariners aboard a sailboat in distress May 18. The crew of the 48-foot S/V (sailing vessel) Sea Fever, ages 90, 81 and 50 respectively, were rescued 40 miles off the coast of North Carolina as a result of the combined efforts of amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3), Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 22 Detachment 1, and Coast Guard Station Fort Macon. When the began taking on water, the Sea Fever crew sent a 'mayday' message reporting they were taking on water. Although they had three pumps energized, they were not able to keep up with the flooding and were going down. U.S. Coast Guard Sector North Carolina responded to the mayday, and sent a request for assistance in their search for the stranded vessel.

USS Wahoo (SS 238) is launched at Mare Island Navy Yard, Calif., just eight months after her keel was laid. Adm. Gary Roughead, commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet, declared that the sunken submarine recently discovered by divers in the Western Pacific is the World War II submarine USS Wahoo (SS 238). Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet declared Oct. 31 that the sunken submarine recently discovered by divers in the Western Pacific is, indeed, the World War II submarine USS Wahoo (SS 238). "After reviewing the records and information, we are certain USS Wahoo has been located," said Adm. Gary Roughead, the U.S. Pacific Fleet commander.