The M/V National Glory, operated by SIU-contracted Intrepid Personnel and Provisioning, was called upon to rescue two vessels full of migrants within a month.
On March 4, the National Glory saved 15 Cuban migrants, adrift aboard a powerless raft near the Straits of Florida; and, just a month prior, the Seafarers-crewed vessel rescued 21 people from a doomed makeshift sailboat in the same region.
SIU members sailing aboard the National Glory during the rescues included: Recertified Bosun Joseph White, ABs Kerry Bodden, Delroy Jose Fernandez Fernandez and Carlos Lasso, STOSs Dexter Arriola Arzu, Jet Delfin and Carlos Jones, QMED Linarys Castillo Ortiz, Oilers Reinaldo Timbal Fostanes, Mohammed Alam Gir and Benjamin Scott, Steward/Baker Cole Briggs and Chief Cook Yoaquin Antonio Gonzalez Dejesus.
In the early hours of March 4, watchstanders noticed a flickering light among the waves. Once it was determined to be a signal for help, the crew was alerted and rushed into action as the National Glory created a lee to shield the raft from the waves. The stranded boaters were then brought aboard to safety, as the crew provided medical aid to one of the rescued migrants, who was having difficulty breathing.
According to White, the bosun, “Our training is just what we do. We’re professional seamen, and I’ve been involved in maybe 20 rescues in my life. We just automatically kick into gear, and my crews have a system down at this point. It’s second nature.”
The third mate, who was fluent in Spanish, served as a translator between the crew and the rescued migrants. He was told by the migrants that their craft’s engine had died and they had been drifting powerless for five days, and had run out of food and water.
“They always say they’re sinking, and so we treat every rescue as if it’s life and death,” White explained. “One group was pretty far away from shore, and I don’t know if they would have made it without us.”
He added that the Cuban Coast Guard personnel (to whom the migrants were transferred) were friendly and helpful, as usual.
In both recent instances, the migrants were provided with food and dry clothing as the crew awaited the arrival of a Coast Guard vessel to transport the rescued boaters into Cuban custody.
“You look at their boats, just plywood stuck together with no fiberglass on the outside, and it’s pretty clear that boat wasn’t going to make it,” White added. “But an American seaman is never going to leave anyone stranded in the water, not in a million years.”
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