It seems our heroes aboard HMS Chatham have been in the thick of the action again this week, this time rescuing a vessel in a cyclone, saving 23 men from 65 knot winds and 8m waves.
We befriended the boys aboard HMS Chatham when we were in Salalah, Oman, when the British Navy frigate was taking a breather from anti-piracy actiivies in the Gulf of Aden. They left just a few days before we did, heading towards Somalia.
On Thursday of last week HMS Chatham received a distress call from cargo ship MV Dubai Moon which almost ran aground on an island in Somali waters. The ship eventually sank yesterday, but not before a helicopter rescue after responding to the distress call which was picked up by Chatham 165 miles away.
Commander Simon Huntingdon said “By the time we got there the conditions were quite atrocious. Her cargo of vehicles on her weather deck had shifted and she was listing by 20 degrees.
“I established radio communications with the master and he said he was having difficulty in attempting to turn the ship.He was in a position where he was being set quite quickly towards an island called Abd al Kuri and I had a fear he would run aground.
“He said if he tried to alter course he was rolling more heavily and he had a concern he would capsize.”
To read the story in full go here.
Our thanks to Jim of ‘Dragon Song’ for bringing this news item to our attention.
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😆 Glad you are enjoying Mumbi. Lots to see there, try the race course the horses have better accomodation than their grooms. xx