Monday, June 8, 2015

Coast Guard responding to disabled 44-foot sailing vessel Alien 1, 350 miles off Long Island Sound


Coast Guard Cutter Spencer file photo
Coast Guard Cutter Spencer file photo

BOSTON, MASS.

The Coast Guard is responding to a disabled sailing vessel Monday approximately 350 miles southeast of Long Island Sound, New York. 

Watchstanders from the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Halifax notified Coast Guard watchstanders at the 1st Coast Guard District’s command center at about 5 p.m. Sunday that the 44-foot sailing vessel Alien 1 was disabled with two people aboard.

Another vessel, the Liberian-flagged bulk carrier Odysseas L, which initially notified RCC Halifax that the Alien 1 was in distress, agreed to remain on scene with Alien 1 until help arrived.

The crew aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Spencer, a 270-foot medium endurance cutter homeported in Boston, responded to the distress. Once on scene, a rescue crew aboard Spencer’s small boat transferred the two people from Alien 1 to the Spencer.

The cutter took the Alien 1 in tow and is currently making way toward land. 

“The Alien 1 crew were lucky to have the Odysseas L nearby and willing to assist,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Glenn Jimenez, a watchstander at the Coast Guard command center. “This case is a great example of the strong partnerships we have with the maritime community and international search and rescue responders.”