Cutter Rescues Fishermen

November 18, 2009
By USCG Hawaii 14th District Public Affairs
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HONOLULU - The crew of the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Galveston Island came to the aid of five people aboard a disabled fishing vessel Nov. 12 off Kaneohe.

The 18-member crew of the cutter left Honolulu late Nov. 11 evening to respond to a call from the master of a 40-foot vessel eight miles east of Kaneohe. The fishing vessel’s master reported being disabled and adrift at 7 p.m.

The Coast Guard issued a marine assistance request broadcast (MARB) over VHF marine band radio channel 16.

The fishing vessel reported the water to be too deep to anchor and that despite having enough fuel aboard they could not restart the engine. The decision to launch the Galveston Island was made from the Coast Guard’s 24-hour Honolulu Harbor command center after the MARB went unanswered and the weather began deteriorating.

The Galveston Island crew reached the scene at 11:27 p.m., but a growing sea state and direction of the seas led the Coast Guard to decide to wait for daylight to safely begin a tow.

The Galveston Island safely returned the vessel and five passengers to shore in Kaneohe by 1:30 p.m. Nov. 11.

“The weather definitely played a factor in our decision to wait to begin the tow,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Lee McMillan, the Galveston Island’s operations petty officer. “We were able to communicate with the fishing vessel crew and wait for conditions to be safe enough to begin the tow evolution. We were glad to be able to help them back to shore.”