A rude awakening for the volunteer crew members of the Saint Martin SNSM, when their phones rang at 4:40 a.m. on Tuesday, September 27. The CROSS-AG (Regional Center for Surveillance and Rescue Operations of the Antilles-Guyana) asks them to go and rescue three sailors on board a cargo ship which has just run aground on Pointe du Bluff just at the end of the bay of Marigot.
The 38-meter vessel suffered a break in mooring in front of the port of Galisbay around 3:50 a.m. When the crew wakes up and realizes this, they start the engines and attempt to pull away from shore as their ship rapidly drifts to shore.
He then suffered damage to the helm following the rupture of the hydraulic circuit, he was no longer maneuvering and quickly found himself stranded on the coast of Pointe du Bluff.
The CROSS first asks the SNSM crew to extract the sailors from the ship. The semi-rigid Rescue Star having a shallow draft, it can approach the stranded vessel more easily than the SNS 129 launch. The five volunteer crew members of the SNSM therefore board the Rescue Star. It sets sail at 5 a.m. and heads towards the ship, while two swimmers on board are putting on their wetsuits for a possible launch.
In the area, five minutes later, VHF radio contact was established between the Rescue Star and the freighter. It is decided that the Rescue Star will approach between series of waves breaking on the side of the freighter to pick up the three sailors one by one.
The sailors have their bags in their hands but do not wear life jackets; they are therefore asked to put on life jackets before making the transfer because there are swells and all it takes is poor handling or a sideways wave to sweep a person into the water.
Fortunately, the operation is a success and all three sailors manage to board the Rescue Star without falling into the water; they are safe on board and are in good health. None are injured.
The Rescue Star returns to dock at Marina Fort Louis at 5:50 a.m.; the sailors are welcomed at the SNSM station with a coffee, then are directed to a salvage company to extract their vessel from its precarious position.
After a first unsuccessful attempt with a small tug the same afternoon, the freighter was finally refloated on Wednesday, with some minor damage to her hull, by a private salvage company.
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