The crew and personnel aboard the high-speed vessel (HSV 2) Swift rescued seven Guatemalan special-forces sailors from their capsized vessel off the coast of Puerto Quetzel, Guatemala, on July 10.
The Guatemalan sailors were stranded after their vessel capsized during a drug interdiction operation. The Guatemalan personnel were transferred onboard the Swift, while four people aboard a sinking semi-submersible drug boat were transferred to a Guatemalan Coast Guard vessel.
“The company is very proud of our people and we’re very happy to have participated in a lifesaving operation,” said Sealift Inc. Vice President Al Adler. “The Navy, the company and the officers are a team and the team works well together.”
AMO members working aboard the HSV 2 Swift during the rescue operation included Capt. Rhett Mann, Chief Mate John Kinkela, Second Mate Hedi Marzougui, Third Mate Jeff Dixon, Chief Engineer Jim Kelley, First Assistant Engineer Don Malozi, Second A.E. Wolfgang Knierim and Third A.E. James Morrison.
Upon arrival in Puerto Quetzal, the crew of the Swift and rescued sailors received a hero’s welcome from Brig. Gen. Juan Jose Ruiz Morales, chief of staff of national defense in Guatemala.
The Swift was en route from La Union, El Salvador, to Guatemala, its next stop for Southern Partnership Station, an annual deployment of multiple specialty platforms to the U.S. Southern Command area of focus in the Caribbean and Central America. The primary objective of the mission is information sharing with navies, coast guards and civilian services throughout the region. The trip to Guatemala was the fifth stop for Swift as part of SPS 2010, which is scheduled to conclude in September.
The exchange in El Salvador provided a forum for dialogue between the two countries on topics affecting the maritime community, thereby strengthening regional stability and security, said Capt. Kurt Hedberg, SPS 2010 mission commander.
The HSV 2 Swift is operated for Military Sealift Command by Sealift LLC and is manned in all licensed positions by American Maritime Officers.
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