Posted:
July 15, 2010
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 El Salvador to Guatemala, its next stop for Southern Partnership Station, an annual deployment of multiple specialty platforms in Central America and the Caribbean designed to foster information sharing between the U.S. and countries in the region.
The HSV 2 Swift is operated for Military Sealift Command by Sealift and is manned in all licensed positions by American Maritime Officers.
HSV 2 Swift crew rescues seven Guatemalan sailors
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 El Salvador to Guatemala, its next stop for Southern Partnership Station, an annual deployment of multiple specialty platforms in Central America and the Caribbean designed to foster information sharing between the U.S. and countries in the region.
The HSV 2 Swift is operated for Military Sealift Command by Sealift and is manned in all licensed positions by American Maritime Officers.