The crew of the UK Naval ship HMS Medway came in for praise after rescuing the five-member crew of an ocean-going tug near Anguilla, when the vessel started to sink in choppy seas on Friday.
The naval ship is no stranger to Cayman, having been deployed here in September following the passage of Hurricane Ian.
The Royal Navy, in a statement on the rescue, said HMS Medway, which maintains a permanent presence in the region, was conducting her first patrol of the year when it “plucked the tug crew off the large barge of sand they had been towing when their tug began to flood”.
Race to rescue
The Royal Navy said that when the vessel’s engines failed, the crew took refuge on the barge – but not before sending out an SOS around 1pm Friday, some 20 miles west of the island of Sint Maarten, near to the British Overseas Territory of Anguilla.
“Patrol ship HMS Medway with her 50 crew was little more than a dozen miles away and picked up the Mayday straight away. After consulting with the regional Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Martinique, the ship altered course and increased speed, reaching the stricken tug and barge in little more than 20 minutes,” the statement said.
A boat was launched with Medway’s boatswain Petty Officer (Seaman Specialist) Sarah Griffiths in charge. She was the first person to reach the stricken vessel.
“Whilst we were cautious as we made our approach to the barge and tug we were able to reassure the crew and transfer them clear of the barge safely. They were hugely grateful,” she said in the statement.
“Despite warm weather – 26 Celsius – the weather was squally with gusts of 30 knots, heavy showers and waves of up to 5ft, which put the rescue at the limits of Medway’s sea boat,” the statement said.
Crew safe and sound
The five tug crew were not injured, but shaken and relieved to be rescued.
They were carried back to HMS Medway and have now been handed over to a search and rescue boat from Anguilla which arrived as the rescue ended.
“The whole ship’s company leapt into action as soon as we made the decision to respond,” said Lieutenant Commander Carla Higgins, Medway’s executive officer, in temporary command of the 2,000-tonne patrol ship.
“The swift thinking and actions of the team were fantastic and we were thankful to be conducting routine maritime security operations in the area to become the on-scene commander working with the local authorities and assist the crew to safety,” Higgins said.
Though low in the water, the tug had not sunk when Medway left the area to resume her maiden patrol of 2023, the statement added.
The HMS Medway, the statement said, operates across the Caribbean/Gulf of Mexico and into the Atlantic all year round, supporting British Overseas Territories in the region, providing assistance in the wake of natural disasters (especially during the Atlantic hurricane season), and working with regional authorities to tackle the illegal narcotics trade.
Last year, the ship intercepted a £24m cocaine shipment in a combined operation with the US Coast Guard and provided assistance in the wake of the two strongest storms to strike the Caribbean: Hurricanes Fiona and Ian.
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