A Zodiac Maritime tanker Horten rescued a Belgium rower when his boat City of Liverpool capsized in the Atlantic Ocean east of Puerto Rico.
The US Coast Guard and the Liberian-flagged tanker crew rescued a 47-year-old Belgium citizen after his single-man rowing vessel, City of Liverpool, was reportedly struck by two rogue waves and capsized in 13 to 15-foot seas which forced him to deploy and board his life raft.
The Belgium rower and the City of Liverpool vessel were reportedly competing in the World’s Toughest Row Race, a 3,000-mile rowing race from San Sebastian de la Gomera, Spain, to Nelson’s Dockyard in Antigua. No other vessels in the race have been reported to be in distress.
At around 02:00 local time on Wednesday, Jan. 21, the US Coast Guard received an unregistered 406 MHz emergency positioning indicating radio beacon EPIRB signal from the City of Liverpool rowboat, alerting of a possible distress approximately 1,100 nautical miles east of Puerto Rico.
Afterwards, another 406 MHz emergency distress signal came from a personal locating beacon device from the same area.
Watchstanders at the Coast Guard Sector San Juan Command Center were able to contact World’s Toughest Row Race Safety Coordinator, who confirmed they had not been able to contact the 47-year-old Belgium citizen after numerous messages had gone unanswered.
The Coast Guard issued an Automated Mutual-Assistance Vessel Rescue callout to contact the 1,092-foot Horten tanker and Enhanced Group Calling to notify other vessels in the vicinity to be on the lookout for distress.
The tanker was transiting on a voyage from Germany of Offshore Guyana when it received the AMVER communication and diverted for over 12 hours transiting approximately 110 miles to the distress signal’s position, the US Coast Guard said.
Photo by: Coast Guard PADET-San Juan
Once in the vicinity, Horten’s ship crew sighted a life raft and confirmed a survivor. Due to the heavy sea states, the Horten ship crew used a life ring to safely recover the survivor.
The 47-year-old man, who was dehydrated but otherwise in good health, reported being in distress for approximately 24 hours. He also maintained his capsized vessel tied to the life raft until his rescue.
“We are immensely proud of our crew, whose professionalism, exemplary display of good seamanship in challenging circumstances and close coordination with the United States Coast Guard, helped save a life today,” said Tanuj Luthra, chief operating officer of Zodiac Maritime, Horten tanker’s managing company.
