Coast Guard crews rescued two boaters from a disabled and adrift vessel approximately 11 nautical miles north of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, Sunday afternoon.
Rescued are a father and son from the 35ft cuddy cabin vessel Kraken Up, after the vessel became disabled following an electrical fire onboard.
Coast Guard watchstanders at Sector San Juan received VHF-Channel 16 Mayday transmission from the owner/operator of the Kraken Up reporting the distress situation. Watchstanders initiated the launch of a Coast Guard MH-60T Jayhawk helicopter from Air Station Borinquen and a 33-foot Special Purpose Craft-Law Enforcement vessel from Boat Forces Unit U.S. Virgin Islands to render assistance.
Watchstanders received follow-up communication from the boaters reporting they used a fire extinguisher to put out the fire and disconnected the batteries, however, the vessel remained disabled and was potentially taking on water.
Shortly thereafter, the Coast Guard boat crew arrived on-scene and confirmed the vessel was not taking on water and the situation was under control. The Coast Guard boat crew worked with the boaters to establish a tow for the Kraken Up. Once established, the Coast Guard boat crew towed the vessel to a safe haven at Green Cay Marina in St. Croix.
“We could only proceed at six knots for the tow, so it took a while to get to St. Croix,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Cameron T. Macneil. “After about 3 hours we put this grateful crew right back in their own slip in Green Cay Marina and proceeded to do a post search and rescue boarding on the vessel with zero discrepancies found. The fact that they were properly equipped with a fire extinguisher, life jackets, and made proper use of their VHF marine radio to relay their situation was extremely helpful to our response and a successful rescue. After an exchange of courtesies, we returned to our base in St. Thomas.”
There were no injuries reported in this case.