We interrupt our regularly scheduled broadcasts with the following Breaking News…

Late yesterday afternoon (the 19th), Spanish authorities in Tenerife contacted Oceania’s Insignia about performing a rescue mission for a small boat with 40 souls on board that had lost power. Ours was the nearest vessel, about two hours away, capable of taking 40 people on board. Insignia arrived on the scene shortly after 8 pm, discovering at least 60 people on a small, open boat with no power. A large freighter was watching over them from a short distance away. Over the next several hours, Insignia’s crew carried out a rescue mission in pretty rough seas.

CAUTION:

Some of the images are very graphic. Viewer discretion is advised.

 

The skies were partly cloudy with a reasonably stiff breeze.

 Approach and maneuvering.

The small boat was dead in the water, so Insignia did all the maneuvering.

 

Transfer to Insignia.

Sixty-eight people were assisted onto the ship, including three women and three children. Some appeared injured. We were later told they came from Senegal and had been on the boat for twenty days.

After everyone was aboard, the crew searched the boat and removed three of the five souls that had not survived the journey (the other two had to be left due to rough seas). Three heroes from the Insignia crew boarded the boat and carried out the job. 

Our new guests are housed in the ship’s lounge and will be disembarked tomorrow at our next port on the island of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain. Thank you to the passengers who donated clothes, as all the arrivals’ clothing was thrown away.

The captain and crew of Insignia did an incredible job carrying out a difficult rescue in rough seas. Special recognition goes to the three men who boarded the boat to carry out their duties.

Thank you, Insignia team!

Click here for full-size, high-def, no-watermark images at www.ImagesByBill.us

Click here to see all my Around-The-World 2024 images going back to January. 

Rescue at sea
06/19/24