Eight sailors who were lost at sea for 30 hours after their cargo ship sank have been rescued by a Bahrain-based maritime force.

The search was conducted by the Combined Task Force-151 (CTF-151), which is part of the Juffair-based Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), in co-ordination with the European Union Naval Force (Eunavfor) and ships from the UK, Turkey and Japan along with aircraft from Germany and Japan, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

After receiving a distress call from merchant vessel Al Hasani on November 19, the EUNAVFOR located the sinking ship and spotted eight people in the water without life jackets.

The New Zealand-led CTF-151 then took control of the search and rescue effort as it co-ordinated with the Yemen Rescue Co-ordination Centre, Turkish Frigate TCG Gemlik, Japanese warship JS Takanami, and Japanese P3 Orion Maritime Patrol Reconnaissance Aircraft.

They rescued all eight men after 30 hours on November 20.

“I am delighted that the crew of MV Al Hasani were safely rescued from the sea,” said CTF-151 Commander and Royal New Zealand Navy Commodore Tony Millar.

“A massive vote of thanks goes to the units and nations who supported the search and rescue operation, however, it was the Yemeni Rescue Co-ordination Centre who really stepped up to the plate on this one, arranging for local civilian craft to assist in the search, without whom the operation could have resulted in tragedy.”

CTF-151 is a multinational task force which conducts counter-piracy operations in and around the Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean and the Red Sea.

“This successful rescue demonstrates CMF's ability to assist in all types of maritime operations in the Middle East and off Africa,” said Commodore Millar.

“The key achievement here, though, was the way in which international organisations and regional powers worked together to save the lives of the sailors involved.”

Commodore Millar, who has led the CTF-151 since August 28 this year, passed the command of the task force to Rear Admiral Pakorn Wanich of the Royal Thai Navy. - TradeArabia News Service