The crew of the Liberia-flagged 557-foot fruit juice tanker, Orange Ocean and the US coast guard watchstanders coordinated the rescue of a solo boater in the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 420 miles north of Puerto Rico, on December 6.
They rescued one person 53-years old, resident of St. Kitts and Nevis, who reportedly came in distress aboard the 46-foot sailing vessel Poesterd while transiting from Bermuda to the Eastern Caribbean Island of St. Maarten.
The Coast Guard watchstanders received an unregistered 406 emergency positioning radio beacon signal on Friday morning alerting of a possible distress approximately 420 miles north of Puerto Rico.
They issued an enhanced group calling and an automated mutual-assistance vessel rescue (AMVER) callout notifying vessels transiting in the vicinity.
The Orange Ocean responded to the call for assistance request and diverted to the location of the distress signal.
Once on scene, the ship Orange Ocean reported that the sailing vessel Poesterd was on fire and sinking.
The Orange Ocean crew launched their rescue boat and safely recovered the boater with no reported medical concerns.
“The meticulous coordination and communication between Coast Guard Sector San Juan watchstanders and the AMVER vessel Orange Ocean crew played a crucial role in saving the life of this fortunate boater from the perils at sea,” said Adam Johns, coast guard sector San Juan search and rescue mission coordinator for the case.
