The U.S. Coast Guard and two good Samaritans rescued 13 people from a sinking commercial fishing vessel last week approximately 63 miles southeast of Chincoteague, Virginia.
Coast Guard Sector Virginia received a mayday call at approximately 02:00 am 28 October from the 115-foot commercial fishing vessel, Tremont.
The trawler was reportedly involved in a collision with the 1000-foot 8,000 TEU Panamanian-flagged container vessel, MSC Rita.
The Tremont crew also reported they were sinking with 13 people aboard and abandoning the vessel.
“Safety of life at sea is the Coast Guard’s top priority,” said Capt. Jennifer Stockwell, Commander of Sector Virginia.
“These are the life-saving missions for which we train each and every day. While this morning’s events were unfortunate, 13 people were rescued from an extremely perilous situation. The combined efforts of good Samaritans and Coast Guard response assets demonstrates a selfless commitment to others.”
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The Tremont crewmembers were transferred to the MLB and taken to the station with no reported injuries.
The fishing vessel captain was taken to Coast Guard Sector Virginia with no reported injuries.
MSC Rita was deployed on the Indus Express service, when the collision occurred off the coast of Norfolk.
The MSC vessel was en route from New York to Charleston.
The cause of the collision is being investigated.
Last month the container carrier TSS Pearl reportedly sunk after a fire onboard the ship.
