Crew of USNS Sioux rescues two
"My third mate, 'Eagle Eye' Robert Campbell, spotted a small fishing boat and what he thought were two people waving a flag," said Capt. Brad Smith, master of the fleet ocean tug. "We pulled up along side, and sure enough they had no propellers on either outboard."
Chief Mate Dave Bradshaw climbed down a Jacob's ladder, boarded the small boat and checked to see if it could be fixed. The two stranded individuals aboard did not speak much English, and they had been drifting for about seven days.
"My officer-in-charge, ITC (Chief Petty Officer) Christopher Sedillo, USN, was able to communicate a little," said Capt. Smith. "They had fuel, some rain water they had collected and a compass, but lost both screws over the side."
Based on limited communication, the crew aboard Sioux pieced together what might have occurred.
"From what we can understand, the screws got caught in their nets and broke the shear pins," said Capt. Smith. "They thought they were only six miles or so off the coast. Their eyes got pretty big when I showed them where they were-about 200 miles offshore."
The two men had rigged a temporary sail, but it was actually taking them further out into the ocean.
"If someone didn't run across them soon they would have been goners," said Capt. Smith. "Needless to say, we had two very happy campers on board!"
The two rescued men enjoyed Sioux hospitality, eating supper and watching movies with the crew. Once they were safely aboard, Capt. Smith contacted Commander Task Force 40 and the Pacific Fleet.
"All seemed to be on board with dropping them off at the nearest port. I had to let them point to the their port on the chart-we were near the El Savaldor/Guatemala border-before I could nail down where I was heading and call back CTF 40 with the plan," said Capt. Smith. "I was hoping to get permission from CTF 40 to head for Porto San Jose, Guatemala, which is where the rescued fishermen indicated would be a good drop off."
By the time Capt. Smith was able to reach CTF 40 Sioux's crew had already used its ten-ton crane to lift the small boat onto Sioux's deck. Capt. Smith was ready to take the rescued passengers back to their homeport, but the captain was instructed to bring the rescued men back to Panama. The ship Sioux was supposed to tow was scheduled to arrive early.
Once in Panama, the Panamanian National Maritime Service, in coordination with the U.S. naval attaché, coordinated the off-load of the rescued passengers and their small fishing boat. Sioux is currently towing a deactivated naval vessel to San Diego, Calif.
Military Sealift Command, the ocean transportation provider for the Department of Defense, operates about 110 noncombatant Navy ships. MSC is also the Navy component of U.S. Transportation Command.
MSC ship missions vary from the transport and afloat prepositioning of defense cargo; to underway replenishment and other direct support to Navy ships at sea; to at-sea data collection for the U.S. military and other U.S. government agencies.
(FROM MILITARY SEALIFT COMMAND PUBLIC AFFAIRS)
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