Tarifa Rescue Coordination Center News

Military Sealift Command large, medium-speed, RoRo ship USNS Seay conducted an at-sea rescue operation February 9 in the Straits of Gibraltar. At 12:50 a.m. the 950-ft. military cargo ship was notified by the Tarifa Rescue Coordination Center in Tarifa, Spain, that a small craft in their vicinity had issued a distress signal and needed assistance. With 12-ft. seas and winds blowing up to 30 knots, Seay’s master Capt. Tom Madden and the ship’s crew began the search. Twelve minutes later, they spotted the 25-foot wooden fishing vessel and its four passengers – three adults and one child. For the next hour, Seay maneuvered to shield the vessel from high winds until a rescue craft from the Tarifa Rescue Coordination Center arrived on-scene to pick up the fishing vessel’s four passengers.