The crew of the American Phoenix and an extra buoyant bean bag chair is all that stood between two fishermen and certain disaster in the Atlantic Ocean after the Jones Act tanker rescued the men off the Georgia coast.
The two men, identified by the U.S. Coast Guard as Calvin Roman and Zachary Wade, were stranded around 75 miles away from Brunswick, Georgia after their 30-foot fishing boat sank on the morning of September 21. With little time to spare, one of the men made the life-saving decision to dive underwater and retrieve the boat’s Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB), the satellite tracking signal that emits distress alerts.
The signal was picked up by the Coast Guard branch in the area, which notified American Phoenix of the position of the distress signal, about 20 nautical miles away from its position. The Fairwater-operated tanker was on its normal Jones Act route delivering fuel. American Phoenix is manned in all licensed positions by American Maritime Officers.
Under the direction of AMO Captain Tom Liebsch, the tanker altered course and sped to the coordinates. Once on scene, the crew of American Phoenix immediately started scanning the area but found no vessel in distress.
Instead, Chief Engineer Eric Ketteringham and Third Mate Jacob Zahorsky spotted just off the tanker’s starboard bridge wing two men clinging to a giant blue bean bag. The rescued fishermen would later tell the crew that they had been treading water on the impromptu floatation device for over six hours before the tanker arrived. Chief Mate Ben Yuse and Second Mate Diego Smith boarded the tanker’s rescue boat, retrieved the two men and brought them back to the American Phoenix.
Neither suffered serious injury, but exhaustion was starting to set in just as help arrived, they said. American Phoenix crewmembers provided fresh, dry clothing and food and water for their new, thankful passengers.
The Coast Guard rendezvoused with American Phoenix about four miles off the coast of Jacksonville, a transported the men to shore as the tanker continued on its journey. The Coast Guard credited the American Phoenix crew for their fast actions and willingness to join the search for mariners in distress.
The successful rescue, which Captain Liebsch credits to consistent man overboard drills on the ship, was also a lesson in resourcefulness and preparedness for all mariners.
“This case is a textbook example of having the proper safety gear on board and knowing how to use it,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Lucas Valles, an operations specialist assigned to the Coast Guard District Southeast Command Center. “The mariners’ use of a registered EPIRB is ultimately what saved their lives.”
The AMO-led crew of the American Phoenix pose with two fishermen they rescued off the Georgia coast.
After their fishing boat sank, two men floated in the Atlantic Ocean for hours until being spotted by Jones Act tanker American Phoenix.
Two rescued fishermen board the American Phoenix after being pulled out of the ocean.
Chief Mate Yuse and Second Mate Smith are thanked by the two men they pulled out of the sea.