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Navy Cargo Ship Assists with At-Sea Rescue

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS080213-09
Release Date: 2/13/2008 12:39:00 PM

From Gillian Brigham, Sealift Logistics Command Europe

NAPLES, Italy (NNS) -- Military Sealift Command large, medium-speed, roll-on/roll-off ship USNS Seay (T-AKR 302) assisted with an at-sea rescue operation Feb. 9 in the Straits of Gibraltar.

At 12:50 a.m. the 950-foot military cargo ship was notified by the Tarifa Rescue Coordination Center in Tarifa, Spain, that a small craft in their vicinity had issued a distress signal and needed assistance.

With 12-foot seas and winds blowing up to 30 knots, Seay's master, Capt. Tom Madden, and the ship's crew began the search. Twelve minutes later, they spotted the 25-foot wooden fishing vessel and its four passengers - three adults and one child.

For the next hour, Seay maneuvered to shield the vessel from high winds until a rescue craft from the Tarifa Rescue Coordination Center arrived on scene to pick up the fishing vessel's four passengers.

"The crew performed flawlessly," said Madden. "Seay succeeded in the tradition of the sea, aiding fellow seamen in distress."

The following day Seay arrived in port in Rota, Spain, to load helicopters and equipment used by the U.S. Army's 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade in Afghanistan. The equipment is being redeployed to the United States.

Seay is under long-term charter to the U.S. government and is crewed by U.S. merchant mariners.

MSC operates more than 110 noncombatant, civilian-crewed ships that deliver combat equipment to troops, strategically preposition combat cargo at sea around the world, re-supply Navy ships at sea, and perform a variety of other missions for the Department of Defense.

For more news from Military Sealift Command, visit www.navy.mil/local/MSC/.