Coast Guard Rescues 10 from Disabled Cargo Ship
The crew of the disabled cargo ship Alta welcomes the Coast Guard Cutter Confidence's small boat crew as they arrive on scene on October 7. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Samantha Penate)
The Coast Guard Cutter Confidence's small boat crew arrives to the Alta to rescue the crew of the disabled cargo ship in the Atlantic Ocean, October 7. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Christopher Domitrovich)
The Coast Guard Cutter Confidence arrives on scene to provide assistance to disabled cargo ship Alta. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Joshua Martinez)
Some of Coast Guard Cutter Confidence's crew gathers with men rescued from the cargo ship Alta. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Todd Behney)
Ensign Samantha Penate, from the Coast Guard Cutter Confidence, speaks with the master of Alta to determine the situation aboard their disabled cargo ship in the Atlantic Ocean, October 7, 2018. The ship became disabled more than 1,000 miles from shore on September 19. U.S. (Coast Guard photo by Todd Behney)
The U.S. Coast Guard picked up 10 crewmembers who had been stranded at sea for nearly three weeks after their cargo ship became disabled approximately 1,380 miles southeast of Bermuda.
"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 Coast Guard Cutter 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.”
The Coast Guard was notified September 30 that the 250-foot Tanzanian-flagged cargo ship, Alta, became disabled 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.
A Coast Guard aircrew dropped about a week's worth of food to the crew on October 2, helping sustain the men until help could arrive.
The Confidence picked up the 10 crewmembers on Monday and is on course to take them to Puerto Rico by Friday.
Meanwhile, the Coast Guard has been working to coordinate with the ship owner for a commercial tug to tow the vessel to shore.
