American Mariners Rescue Three Fishermen off Tampa, Florida

The U.S.-flagged tanker American Pride rescued three fishermen Wednesday after their boat capsized about 45 miles off Tampa Bay, Florida

The U.S. Coast Guard had dispatched a Jayhawk helicopter aircrew to the area on Sunday after receiving an EPIRB alert from the fishing vessel Captain Bob. Once on scene, the Jayhawk aircrew located the Captain Bob at anchor and stable, but could not establish radio contact. 

On Wednesday, U.S. Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg received a notification from the crew of the American Pride, who reported that they had spotted the Captain Bob and that the fishing vessel had capsized. The Pride's crew launched their rescue boat to investigate. While en route, they saw a red flare and diverted to its position, where they located three survivors in a life raft. 
 
The Coast Guard dispatched a response boat crew  to rendezvous with the American Pride. At about 2145 hours, the crew transferred the three survivors to the response boat and transported them to Station St. Petersburg, where they were released in good condition. 
 
“The quick and selfless actions of the American Pride crew saved three lives today," said Capt. Matthew Thompson, commander of Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg.
 
A marine casualty investigation to determine the cause of the capsizing is currently under way. 

American Pride is one of the four Philly Shipyard-built American-class tankers, a series of 50,000 dwt vessels built to a South Korean design for Kinder Morgan. She entered service in 2017.