Amver Bulker Stands By Dismasted Catamaran

French catamaran dismasted in the South Atlantic sparked a search effort involving Coast Guard aircraft and an Amver ship.

The crew of the 109-ft catamaran Mouse Trap activated their Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) after their mast fell killing a crew member 500 miles southeast of Bermuda.

Rescue authorities in Griz Nes, France received the initial distress call and notified U.S. Coast Guard rescue personnel in Portsmouth, Va. "The vessel is adrift, the tiller and steering gears are in complete failure and the crew is trying to start the engine," French rescue personnel reported.

The Coast Guard immediately sent a HC-130 rescue aircraft and used the Amver system to divert the 623 foot Greek-managed, Marshall Island-flagged bulk carrier Alexandros III which was about 100-miles from the  casualty.

Two hours after the Coast Guard began managing the rescue effort they received word from the International Emergency Rescue Coordination Center that the crew of the Mouse Trap had started its engine and was no longer in distress. The aircraft and Amver ship were released from the search.

The crew of the catamaran is maintaining a communications schedule with French rescue authorities until they arrive in St. Martin.