Thread: Norwegian Gem saves 5

Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Gem responded to a call from the US Coast Guard who had received a distress notification from Sanctuary, a 39-foot sailboat, stating that they had large breaking waves over the bow, had lost power and a life raft and were taking on water. Sanctuary was located approximately 350 nautical miles from New York in the North Atlantic Ocean, two hours away from the Norwegian Gem, the closest vessel in the area. The Norwegian Gem's Captain Hakan Svedung immediately diverted course to rescue the four men and one woman aboard.
Upon reaching the Sanctuary, Norwegian Gem encountered extreme weather conditions with wind force up to 40 knots and large swells, making it challenging to launch the ship's rescue boat. Once in the water, the rescue boat made contact with the sailboat and quickly transferred the five occupants.
At approximately 2 pm, the sailboat passengers and rescue team were all safely aboard Norwegian Gem. The ship, which was returning from Bermuda, continued on its route back to New York and arrived Sunday morning, October 30, just a few minutes later than the scheduled arrival. The five Sanctuary passengers will be disembarked in New York.
"This rescue operation was conducted under extremely difficult circumstances," said Captain Svedung. "I am proud of our crew who braved their lives to rescue the five people in distress."

I thought this was an interesting article because it gives some info about AMVER and how the Coast Guard knows which ships are in the vicinity.

3 cheers for the Norwegian Gem!

OCTOBER 30, 2011 8:03PM
Five Sailors Saved by Cruise Ship Norwegian Gem in Coast Guard AMVER Rescue

On Saturday morning, the 39′ sailboat, Sanctuary, in heavy weather 256 miles northeast of Bermuda, was hit by several breaking waves, lost power and began slowly taking on water. The crew of five, four men and one woman, called for help. The US Coast Guard launched a C130 Hercules plane from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City to help locate the sailboat. They also vectored the cruise ship, Norwegian Gem, part of the AMVER network, to the distressed sailboat. In 40 knot winds and large swells, the five crew sailors were rescued and taken aboard the cruise ship. The Norwegian Gem, which was on its way back from Bermuda when they rescued the sailors, arrived back in New York, this morning. The Norwegian Gem is one of roughly 20,000 ships enrolled in the AMVER program. The rescue of the five sailors from the Sanctuary is just another example of how AMVER saves lives. But what is AMVER?

AMVER is the most amazing world-wide maritime search and rescue network that most people have probably never heard of. AMVER stands for the Automated Mutual Assistance Vessel Rescue System. It is a voluntary program in which merchant ships enroll and provide the AMVER system with their voyage plans and positions. When a distress call comes in, AMVER determines which is the closest ship capable of providing assistance. In the case of the Norwegian Gem, the cruise ship was only a few hours away from the sailboat in distress. With roughly 20,000 ships enrolled in the AMVER network, there is a good chance that help for sailors in distress, on merchant ships or private vessels, is not far away.

it show, how helpful the Norwegian gem's grew is.