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HONOLULU — The crews of a Marshall Islands patrol vessel and a Chinese-flagged fishing vessel rescued the crew of a 308-foot fish carrier Saturday grounded on Taka Atoll in the Marshall Islands.
The crew of the Lomor and the Shen Lian Cheng 737 rescued all 24 mariners from the Ou Ya Leng No. 6.
The mariners reportedly climbed down a Jacob’s ladder, walking across the shallow reef to the protected side that was not taking breaking surf and were shuttled by small boat to the Chinese fishing vessel. They were transported to Majuro. A Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules from Air Station Barbers Point was on scene to coordinate the response and provide a resource should any of the mariners been swept out to sea.
The Ou Ya Leng No. 6 remains grounded and upright. The owner of the vessel will work with the Republic of the Marshall Islands to address the ship. The cause of the incident and disposition of any cargo or fuel remains unknown. There are no reports of injuries or pollution. Any investigation will be the responsibility of the vessel's flag state.
At 4:15 a.m. Wednesday, Maritime Rescue Coordination Center China personnel notified the Coast Guard of a fishing vessel taking on water 180 nautical miles (207 statute miles) northeast of Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands.
Weather in the area at the time of the grounding was 11-foot seas with 25 mph winds. Degrading conditions slowed the arrival of response vessels.
The Hercules crew came from Wake Island where they were previously involved in the Sincerity Ace case since Monday.
The Ou Ya Leng No. 6 is reportedly a Chinese-flagged fish carrier targeting squid in the Western and Central Pacific Fishing Commission area now aground in the territorial waters of the Republic of the Marshall Islands.
Taka Atoll, also known as Toke Atoll, is a small, uninhabited coral atoll in the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands and is roughly triangular made up of six small islands with an area of less than a square mile and lagoon in the center. Around 400 people inhabit nearby Utirik Atoll. The Republic of the Marshall Islands is located near the equator and slightly west of the International Date Line. Its total population of about 53,000 people live across the nation's 29 coral atolls with Majuro as the capital.
All dates and times in release are in HST (Hawaii Standard Time GMT -10). Photos taken in the Marshall Islands in MHT (Marshall Islands Time GMT +12).
| Date Taken: | 01.05.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 01.06.2019 02:58 |
| Story ID: | 306274 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 432 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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