Crew of Volga Shipping Company’s tanker saved three people in the Mediterranean Sea

At 9:50 p.m. (UTC+3), the loaded tanker heading for the Moroccan port of Tangier was adrift near Ceita (OPL Ceuta 3547, 3N 00508,4W) in expectation of a favorable forecast when the crew observed a rubber boat with three people in need of help.

A ‘Man Overboard’ alarm was immediately raised and a report to Tarifa Traffic was made via 72VNF channel. Unfavorable weather conditions (strong west wind of 15-17 m per second and wave height of 1.5-2.0 m) did not let to launch an accident boat.

Thanks to the promptness and accuracy of the crew using a cargo net, all the three people were lifted on board the vessel at 10:00 p.m. (UTC+3). The distressed people got first aid and were provided with clothes and a health cabin.

The rescued people stayed on board the tanker until p.m. (UTC+3), January 11, when the Moroccan Coast Guard boat AL AMAN took them over. Overall control of the ship maneuvers and the rescue operation was conducted by Vladislav Krasnoshchekov, Captain of the VF Tanker-8.

When the weather improved, the VF Tanker-8 proceeded to the port of Tangier located in northern Morocco, on the Strait of Gibraltar coast.

That was not the first case of the shipping company’s crews involved in rescue operations. Last December, tanker Mekhanik Yerokhin helped a distressed ship in the Ionian Sea, near the coast of Italy. Volga Shipping Company keeps strictly to the International Convention on Salvage with its priority given to the ultimate value of human life and safety.