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It was a close call for a few sailors on board a Canadian ship, but our friends to the south came to the rescue early Monday morning.
The U.S. Coast Guard search and rescue crews from Gloucester station, along with the Air Station Cape Cod and the Coast Guard Cutter Ocracoke, rescued nine crew members from the Canadian tall ship, Liana’s Ransom.
The group was rescued 58 miles east of Gloucester at around 12:35 a.m. on Monday morning. Sector Boston Command centre received a notification that the vessel’s engines were disabled and its sails were wrapped around the mast.
Photo credit: U.S. Coast Guard.
The weather was deteriorating fast and the violent sea reached nearly ten feet. The rescue command centre dispatched two 47-foot lifeboat crews from Gloucester to tow the vessel back, but once on scene, the rough sea conditions caused the tow line to break.
The rescue crews directed the Canadian crew to prepare to abandon ship, at which point a helicopter from Air Station Cape Cod was dispatched to assist.
Jay Woodhead, the command duty officer at Sector Boston’s Command Centre, said that winds were gusting fiercely, up to 30 knots, and it was unsafe for the Canadian crew to stay aboard the vessel.
Photo credit: U.S. Coast Guard.
The nine passengers were transferred from Liana’s Ransom to the Coast Guard motor lifeboats. One man suffered a head injury when leaping from the vessel and was airlifted to Massachusetts General Hospital by helicopter.
The eight remaining crew members returned to Gloucester Station with the American search and rescue team.
A locator beacon was left on Liana’s Ransom for tracking and the Coast Guard is currently evaluating the possibility of towing the vessel back to port.
“It was fortunate for the crew of the vessel that the owner reached out to us,” Woodhead, the command duty officer at Sector Boston’s Command Centre.
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