A US Navy helicopter assisted in the rescue of 14 Indian mariners in the Northern Arabian Sea on Sunday, June 14.
Upon receiving a distress call from the stranded mariners, a US Navy P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft was first at the scene. The aircraft responded by dropping a search and rescue kit that included a liferaft, which the 14 mariners boarded.
Jabal Ali 9, a Saint Kitts and Nevis-registered Ro-Ro vessel, subsequently arrived on-scene and successfully recovered 11 crewmembers from the raft.
An MH-60 Sea Hawk helicopter assigned to the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln rescued three additional mariners after their liferaft capsized in rough seas. The three mariners were transported to Jabal Ali 9, where they were in good health and spirits.
The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Michael Murphy also responded to the distress call.
Lincoln, Murphy, and the P-8 were operating under the command of the US Fifth Fleet, which is responsible for US Navy operations in the Arabian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman, the Red Sea, and parts of the Indian Ocean.
