US Coast Guard aircrew, the crew of the Crowley containership El Coquí, and fishermen from the fishing vessel Bonanza rescued four men from a life raft in the Atlantic Ocean's Silver Bank waters north of Dominican Republic on Tuesday, January 21.
Rescued are US citizens David Potts, 63; John Potts, 62; Andrew Cullar, 26; and Russel Case, 67, who were forced to abandon the sailing vessel Mariposa after the vessel reportedly struck a submerged rock and was then overtaken by a wave, which caused the vessel to roll on its port side.
The vessel struck another rock, which breached the vessel's hull, and started taking on water while additional waves flooded the vessel before sinking.
Mariposa was on a voyage from St Croix, US Virgin Islands to Portofino, Texas, with an anticipated stop in Key West, Florida.
Coast Guard Sector San Juan Command Center watchstanders received an unregistered 406 Emergency Positioning Radio Beacon signal Tuesday morning alerting of a possible distress approximately 180 miles (290 kilometres) northwest of Puerto Rico.
Coast Guard watchstanders directed the launch of an Air Station Miami HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft out of Air Station Borinquen in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, to search for any signs of a possible distress or survivors.
Watchstanders also issued an Enhanced Group Calling (EGC) and an Automated Mutual-Assistance Vessel Rescue (AMVER) callout notifying vessels transiting in the vicinity to be on the lookout for a possible distress. The US-flagged containership El Coquí diverted to the location of the distress during the ship’s voyage from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Jacksonville, Florida.
Once in the Silver Bank area, the coast guard aircrew acquired the emergency beacon, located the life raft with the four survivors, and vectored-in the cargo ship to the area.
The coast guard aircrew also noticed the fishing vessel Bonanza that was accompanied by multiple small fishing vessels in the vicinity of the distress. Not having direct communication with the fishing vessel Bonanza, the coast guard aircrew conducted a series of low passes to gain the vessel’s attention before vectoring the vessel’s crew to the position of the life raft.
The fishing vessel Bonanza crew was able to approach the life raft in the shoal waters and rescue the survivors. Once rescued, the fishing vessel Bonanza transported the survivors to El Coquí for further transport to Jacksonville, Florida. No medical concerns were reported from survivors.
During initial search efforts, watchstanders used the Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking (SARSAT) system, which provided vessel profile information and various emergency contacts for the sailing vessel Mariposa. This information significantly contributed to search planning efforts and was available due to the vessel Mariposa’s 406MHz Emergency Positioning Radio Beacon being registered with the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).