Christmas rescue

Captains,

Captain Pagunsan aboard MV Fantasy Star (AMVER participant) teamed up with the crew of USCGC Tarpon on Christmas when a 406 MHZ EPIRB alerted the Charleston Coast Guard of a distressed vessel named Carol Ann. Thanks Captain Pagunsan.

RADM W

Ship in right place at right time

1/1/2011

By LOUIE BROGDON The Brunswick News Arsenio Pagunsan, captain of the Fantasy Star, a Panamanian freighter ship, didn't expect to spend Christmas 30 miles off the coast of St. Simons Island, but at the request of the U.S. Coast Guard, he did. It was lucky for two individuals that Pagnusan, his ship now docked in Brunswick, was in the right place at the right time. The Fantasy Star was heading toward the Brunswick port from Canada when it and its crew were asked to divert 22 miles off course, he said. "I received a message from the U.S. Coast Guard that a fishing vessel was in engine trouble and they asked for me to go to the fishing vessel for communication," Pagunsan said Thursday. The troubled boat reportedly didn't have a strong enough radio to communicate with the Coast Guard in Jacksonville. The Fantasy Star was asked to go to the beleaguered boat and use its own communication devices to relay messages to a Coast Guard unit that was six hours away. The two people aboard the immobile boat were rescued and taken to Tybee Island by the Coast Guard, Pagunsan said. The Fantasy Star was released by the Coast Guard after nearly eight hours and docked on Colonel's Island.