Four crew rescued after storm sinks tugboat near Indonesia

August 7 ------ Four crewmembers were rescued after spending at least six hours adrift in a life raft when their tugboat capsized and sank in Indonesian waters.

The crew of the tug TB AOM 787 was towing a barge near Indonesia’s Riau Islands on 25 July when the vessel was caught in severe weather. The crewmembers managed to abandon ship and board a life raft moments before the tug sank, but were forced to leave behind all of their belongings, including their passports.

The crew drifted for hours in rough seas, with waves reaching about two meters and strong winds battering the area. Heavy rain reduced visibility, and despite firing several distress flares, they failed to attract the attention of nearby vessels. According to Janggeum Marine, two ships passed close to the life raft but did not stop.

As reported, the Indonesian Rescue Coordination Center issued a distress alert and requested that the container ship Shanghai Voyager, divert approximately 70 nautical miles from its course to assist. Local rescue teams were unable to respond immediately because of the adverse weather conditions.

While searching the area, the second officer aboard Shanghai Voyager spotted the drifting life raft and alerted the ship’s captain. Strong winds and heavy seas made it difficult for the container ship to safely approach the survivors, but after about 45 minutes of maneuvering, the vessel came alongside the raft.

The crew then carried out the rescue in accordance with established emergency procedures, successfully bringing all four survivors aboard.

The crewmembers underwent medical assessments on the container ship before being transferred, at the request of Indonesian search and rescue authorities, to local rescue vessels for transport to a hospital for further examination.

Source: safety4sea.com