U.S. Merchant Mariners Rescue Drifting Dhow in Arabian Sea

[Brief] On Friday, the civilian crew of the replenishment oiler USNS Yukon rescued a drifting dhow in the Arabian Sea. 

The Yukon received notification from the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) watch center in Bahrain that the dhow Wadi Karan was not under command and required assistance. The Wadi Karan had experienced an engine failure ten days earlier, and her crew had run out of food and water. 

After assessing the situation, the Yukon's civilian crew provided them with food and water, and they remained on station until Omani naval forces arrived to provide further assistance. Throughout the evolution,Yukon's crew maintained COVID-19 social distancing and face covering requirements in order to prevent the transmission of the disease between crews.

“The duty to help each other when in need is something that all mariners share, civilian and military alike,” said Navy Capt. Michael O’Driscoll, commander of Task Force (TF) 53. “The sailors and civilian mariners aboard MSC ships are trained and ready to answer this call whenever possible.”