Vessels Assist Disabled Container Ship Near Nantucket

Three Amver ships diverted to assist the 330-foot container ship Agaman which has been dead in the water in 10-foot to 15-foot seas approximately 88 miles southeast of Nantucket since Wednesday. The Agaman was on a voyage from Canada to Cuba when contamination fouled its fuel supply and seized its engines and generators. Its crew has limited power to operate their radios, no heat and dwindling food stores. According Captain Karavidas Georgios, to the Aegeas's master, "the crew of the Agaman will not have enough food to last the voyage and is keeping warm by wearing extra clothes and tending a fire on the poop deck." There have been no reports of injuries. The 524-foot bulk carrier Dual Confidence's crew immediately diverted Wednesday to render assistance. They were relieved Thursday by the 598-foot Greek-flagged tanker Aegeas, which recently departed Montreal, Canada. The Aegeas arrived alongside the stricken ship early Thursday and provided necessary communications to Coast Guard officials.MV AgamanDespite winds of 40-knots and 10-foot seas the Aegeas's master sent his chief engineer to assist the Agaman's engineer attempt generator repairs. Amver, sponsored by the U. S. Coast Guard, is a unique, computer-based and voluntary global ship reporting system used worldwide by search and rescue authorities to arrange for assistance to persons in distress at sea. The German company Komrowski Shipping, manager of the Agaman, realizing the crew had no heat and would run out of food and water in two days, arranged for a tug boat to respond with supplies to tow the disabled ship to New York City for repairs. The Aegeas remains on the scene awaiting relief from the 595 foot Danish tanker, the Moselle, which is en route from New York City and should arrive Friday at approximately 9:00 pm. With Amver, rescue coordinators can identify participating ships in the area of distress and divert the best-suited ship or ships to respond. Prior to sailing, participating ships send a sail plan to the Amver computer center. Vessels then report every 48 hours until arriving at their port of call. This data is able to project the position of each ship at any point during its voyage. In an emergency, any rescue coordination center can request this data to determine the relative position of Amver ships near the distress location. On any given day there are over 3,200 ships available to carry out search and rescue services. Visit http://www.amver.com to learn more about this unique worldwide search and rescue system.