New Zealand officials hail seamanship in hard rescue
Xinhua, June 24, 2015 Adjust font size:
New Zealand rescue authorities have praised the crew of a Liberian-flagged container ship that rescued three men after their yacht caught fire in the South Pacific early Wednesday.
The MV Cap Capricorn picked up two New Zealand sailors and their Mexican skipper from a life raft 280 km south of Niue after their 15-meter United States-registered yacht was engulfed by fire while traveling from Rarotonga to Tonga.
The 36-year-old skipper was on watch and the two other sailors, aged 67 and 70, were asleep when the fire broke out, said a statement from the Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ).
They had no time to dress or grab any equipment before abandoning the vessel to a life raft but the skipper managed to reach the emergency position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB).
As the EPIRB was German-registered the alert was received by the Marine Rescue Coordination Centre in Bremen, which contacted the RCCNZ.
The RCCNZ identified ships nearby and the MV Cap Capricorn, at just over 38 km away, was requested to divert and provide assistance.
The ship arrived just after 3 a.m., RCCNZ search and rescue mission coordinator Dave Wilson said in the statement.
"When they arrived on scene they saw the glow from the burning yacht and blasted their whistle to attract the attention of any survivors. After around 30 minutes of searching they saw a distress flare fired in response," said Wilson.
The life raft was located and the ship maneuvered alongside, but conditions were not easy, with waves around 3.5 meters high and winds of 45 km per hour.
The yacht's crew were safely on board the MV Cap Capricorn by around 5.15 a.m. with no serious injuries.
"It was an excellent piece of seamanship to bring a 228-meter ship alongside a life raft in these conditions. We'd like to express our appreciation to the master and the crew of the MV Cap Capricorn for their efforts," Wilson said. Endi