French A400 Atlas pilots scan the Pacific Ocean for a disabled ship near the Northern Marianas, July 10, 2023. (Michael Cossaboom/U.S. Coast Guard)
A multinational group of sailors and airmen in the Western Pacific diverted from their training recently for a real-life rescue of 11 mariners stranded on a disabled vessel near the Northern Marianas.
U.S., French and Canadian aircraft found the mariners and their 21-foot vessel, the Full 20 Horizon, in 8-foot seas approximately 30 nautical miles northwest of Rota, U.S. Coast Guard Forces Micronesia/Sector Guam said in a Tuesday news release.
The Coast Guard received a distress call from the disabled ship, which had no active GPS onboard, around 5 p.m. Watchstanders issued a maritime alert and coordinated with local responders from the Northern Marianas to mount a rescue, according to the release.
Simultaneously, a French air force A400 Atlas military transport launched from Andersen Air Force Base on Guam and discovered the ship around 8 p.m. Strong winds and waves, however, prevented the local responders from reaching the mariners.
"Aircraft crews play a crucial role in our efforts to save lives in challenging maritime situations,” Capt. Nick Simmons, commander of U.S. Coast Guard Forces Micronesia/Sector Guam, said in the release. “Using aerial assets, combined with our local partnerships, ensures a swift and effective response to distress calls, ultimately increasing the chances of a successful rescue.”
A French airman scans the Pacific Ocean for a disabled ship near the Northern Marianas, July 10, 2023. (Taylor Crul/U.S. Coast Guard)
Trying for a work-around, the Air Force’s 36th Wing at Andersen diverted a Canadian air force HC-130 search-and-rescue aircraft to relieve the French A400 that was running low on fuel, according to the release.
Around 1 a.m. Tuesday, a U.S. Navy MH-60 Nighthawk helicopter successfully hoisted the 11 mariners off the Full 20 Horizon and took them to the nearby Rota airport without injury, according to the release.
The Coast Guard is uncertain why the vessel became disabled, but the number of passengers and the foul weather possibly contributed, U.S. Coast Guard Forces Micronesia/Sector Guam spokeswoman Chief Warrant Officer Sara Muir told Stars and Stripes by email Friday.
The Coast Guard cutter Myrtle Hazard towed the vessel to Rota, where Northern Marianas law enforcement started an investigation, Muir said.
The French and Canadian aircraft were participating in Exercise Mobility Guardian 2023, hosted by the Air Force’s Air Mobility Command.
The training, which runs through July 21, includes 70 aircraft and more than 15,000 people from seven countries - the U.S., Canada, France, Japan, New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom - and is the “largest full spectrum readiness exercise” in the command’s history, Air Mobility Command said in a July 6 news release.
