Coast Guard saves 2, keeps boat from sinking

PORT ARTHUR, TEXAS, UNITED STATES

02.10.2014

Story by Petty Officer 2nd Class Stephen Lehmann 

U.S. Coast Guard District 8 PADET Houston

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Coast Guard crews rescued two fishermen Monday, after their boat started taking on water in the Gulf of Mexico.

At approximately 3:30 p.m. Coast Guard watchstanders at Sector Corpus Christi received a radio transmission from a distressed fisherman saying, “We have breached the hull, we are going down.” The call came from a 40-foot fishing boat, the Miss Yalanda, with two individuals aboard. Their boat was taking on water and flooding the engine room approximately 19 miles off the coast of Port O’Connor. Sector Corpus Christi launched a boatcrew aboard a 45-foot Response Boat — Medium from Coast Guard Station Port O’Connor and an aircrew aboard an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Air Station Corpus Christi.

When the rescue boat arrived on scene, two Coast Guard crewmen went aboard the vessel to reduce the flooding with pumps brought from the rescue boat and from the rescue helicopter. The fishing boat was later put in tow and brought to Port O’Connor to assess damages and make repairs.

“Mariners in urgent distress trigger an ‘all hands on deck’ response from the Coast Guard,” said Cmdr. Daniel Deptula, the search and rescue mission coordinator for Sector Corpus Christi. “Seconds mattered in this case as the flooding was uncontrolled and the potential for a life-threatening situation was high. That mayday call to the Coast Guard saved lives and ensured the vessel could make it back to port.”

“The outstanding team effort certainly makes me proud to serve with these humble heroes," said Capt. Samuel Creech, the commanding officer of Sector Corpus Christi. “Saving lives from the perils of the sea is job number one for us.”

For additional information about the case, please contact Lt. j.g. Margaret Kratz at [phone].

• Date Taken: 02.10.2014
• Date Posted: 02.11.2014 13:41
• Story ID: 120466
• Location: PORT ARTHUR, TEXAS, US