Nine rescued from Canadian tall ship in rough seas
Digital Reporter
Tuesday, March 31, 2015, 1:12 PM - The U.S. Coast Guard rescued nine crewmembers from a Canadian tall ship after it ran into trouble off the Massachusetts coast Monday.
The Liana's Ransom sent out a distress call at 12:35 a.m. Monday as it was 93 km east of Gloucester. The ship's engines were inoperable, and its sails had been wrapped around the mast, in rough seas whipped up into three metre waves by 55 km/h winds
The USCG says those winds made it unsafe for the crew to stay aboard, and they put on survival suits and prepared to abandon ship after coast guard boat crews failed to tow the ship to safety after the tow line snapped.
Photo: U.S. Coast Guard.
An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter was sent to assist in the transfer of the crew, one of whom suffered a head injury while apparently leaping from the ship. He was airlifted to hospital in Boston, while the rest of the crewmembers were taken by USCG boats to shore.
In the meantime, the ship was fitted with a locator beacon for tracking, and a coast guard cutter was dispatched to see if the vessel can be towed to port.
The ship's website says the ship was purchased in 2006, sailed from Texas to Nova Scotia. Though registered in Halifax, it offers week-long charters from the island of St. Maarten in the Caribbean.
SOURCE: U.S. Coast Guard
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