Horizon Lines Vessel Responds to Sailboat in Distress off Florida
CHARLOTTE, NC August 18, 2006 --The Horizon Hawaii, a containership operating between the U.S. and Puerto Rico for Horizon Lines, came to the aid of a stranded sailboat off the coast of Puerto Rico last week.
The "Kokomo Cat," with four persons aboard, had placed a distress call to the U. S. Coast Guard after it incurred damage to its sails and was without diesel fuel to operate its engine. The Coast Guard contacted the Horizon Hawaii at 3 a.m. and asked for assistance in locating the small craft as it was relatively close to the containership's heading. The crew soon spotted a light in the seas and made radio contact with the sailboat. The event took place approximately 40 nautical miles north of the North West tip of Puerto Rico.
"After radio contact with the Kokomo Cat, the decision was made to make every effort to get fuel to the sail boat whose sails were unusable" said Mike Parr, Captain of the Horizon Hawaii. The Horizon Hawaii is a 670-foot containership and maneuvering the vessel alongside a stranded small craft presents significant challenges. The Horizon Hawaii crew was fully deployed to accomplish this task.
"We had two engineers in the engine room for maneuvers in order to safely place our ship between the wind and the seas for the Kokomo Cat. We gave them a heaving line to bring their empty jerry cans on board so we could fill them with diesel" recounted Captain Parr. The refueling cans were then returned to the stranded craft and the Kokomo Cat was underway under its own power. The operation was completed shortly after 5 a.m. the Horizon Hawaii resumed its course for its next port call in Jacksonville, FL.
"Horizon Lines is extremely proud of its mariners and their commitment to serve, whatever the task," said John V. Keenan, Senior Vice President and Chief Transportation Officer for Horizon Lines.
About Horizon Lines
Horizon Lines, LLC is the nation's leading Jones Act container shipping and integrated logistics company, operating 16 U.S.-flag vessels on routes linking the continental United States with Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and Puerto Rico. Horizon Lines also owns Horizon Services Group, an organization with a diversified offering of cargo management and tracking services being marketed to shippers, carriers, and other supply chain participants. Horizon Lines, LLC and Horizon Services Group are wholly owned subsidiaries of Horizon Lines, Inc., which trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol HRZ.