• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Swift Assists Vessel in Distress Off Liberian Coast

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS080324-21
Release Date: 3/24/2008 3:37:00 PM

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Michael Campbell, Africa Partnership Station Public Affairs

HIGH SPEED VESSEL SWIFT, At Sea (NNS) -- While transiting off the coast of Monrovia, Liberia as part of Africa Partnership Station (APS), High Speed Vessel 2 Swift received a distress call, March 20, relayed from Cap Lara, a Greek flagged vessel, to a Portuguese fishing vessel, the Princesa Do Guadiana, which was stranded off the coast with no food, water or fuel.

USS Fort McHenry (LSD 43), APS flag ship, was in a position to assist in relaying the first request for assistance from the vessel, and acted as an intermediary for the three other vessels during the early stages of the incident.

Once given permission to approach the stranded vessel, Swift launched a rigid hull inflatable boat (RHIB) into the water to assess the situation. The vessel, which had a small group of fishermen aboard, suffered diesel propulsion engine failure and the ship's electrical generator was quickly running out of power.

"It was definitely an interesting experience," said Engineman 1st Class Bill Hamilton, crew member of the RHIB who assisted the stranded vessel and boat engineer during the event. "It was my first time doing a boat operation like this one at night. We approached the stranded ship, and we could tell they were very happy to see us. We delivered food and water and made sure they would be alright until their repair parts came in and we returned back to our ship."

Once on the scene, crew members from Swift, members of Mobile Security Squadron 3 and Dr. Augustus Vogel, of the office of the Oceanographer of the Navy, who is embarked on board Swift in support of APS, approached the vessel to assist. Vogel acted as an interpreter for the event once the crew arrived at the Princesa Do Guadiana. The small group of Sailors successfully delivered two cases of Meals-Ready-to-Eat and several cases of bottles of water.

"Swift is fortunate to render help to a fellow mariner," said Cmdr. Charles Rock, commanding officer of Swift. "It is a shining example of coordination between civilian, military and APS authorities. The assistance we provided truly drives home the value of APS in the region."

"Africa Partnership Station's ability to react quickly to the request for assistance to the distressed vessel highlights the inherent strengths of our multi-national and multi-agency approach," said Capt. John Nowell, the APS commander. "We received nearly simultaneous requests from both the U.S. Embassy in Liberia and from the Portuguese Maritime Rescue Coordination Center in Lisbon who relayed locating data for the vessel to the APS Portuguese staff officer on board Fort McHenry at anchor off Monrovia. The crew of Swift then executed a text book response despite short notice and darkness. This demonstration of partnership and persistent presence in executing a maritime safety mission is what APS is all about."

As part of the Navy's new global maritime strategy, APS is a U.S. Naval Forces Europe-led initiative, executed by a multinational staff on board Fort McHenry and Swift. Commander Task Force 365 and training teams from various U.S. and European military commands, as well as governmental and nongovernmental organizations are embarked on board Fort McHenry to enhance cooperative partnerships with regional maritime services in West and Central Africa and the Gulf of Guinea on a seven-month deployment.

For more news from Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe -Commander, 6th Fleet or Africa Partnership Station, visit www.navy.mil/local/naveur/.