Caribbean freight ship sinks

Captains,

A 206 ft Caribbean freight ship sank this week after her crew was unable to mitigate flooding. It's unclear why the vessel was taking on water. Thankfully, the radios, life rafts, and rescue coordination system worked as designed.

RADM W

Coast Guard Cutter Nantucket crew returns home after helping to save 10 lives

Posted by cgnews on 10/10/10 ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Nantucket returned home to St. Petersburg today after a successful patrol resulted in crewmembers helping save 10 lives in the Bahamas.

The Nantucket was on patrol off South Florida Thursday, when a 206-foot cargo ship capsized and broke into pieces near Damas Cay in the Cay Sal Bank, Bahamas.

Coast Guard search-and-rescue coordinators in Key West received a mayday call at 2:08 p.m. Wednesday from the motor vessel Mystic, a 206-foot cargo ship with 10 persons aboard. The Mystic passed a position, but no nature of distress was given and the vessel was unable to hear any response from Coast Guard rescue operators.

Coast Guard Sector Key West watchstanders received notification at 3 a.m. that the Mystic was in danger of capsizing, and the 10-member crew of the vessel was making preparations to abandon ship. At 4 a.m. the 10 crew members of the Mystic abandoned ship into two liferafts.

A Coast Guard helicopter aircrew that had pre-staged in Marathon through the night launched and arrived on scene with the Mystic at 4:10 a.m. and Nantucket launched their small boat, to effect a coordinated response.

At 4:30 a.m. the Nantucket smallboat crew recovered four of the individuals in liferafts and the rescue helicopter crew deployed their rescue swimmer who assisted in hoisting the remaining six people and one dog onto the helicopter.