ATMO vessel rescues two fishermen off Florida coast

A fire destroys a fishing boat in the Atlantic Ocean as seen from the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71). Two fishermen took to their life raft after unsuccessfully fighting a fire on board. Theodore Roosevelt assisted Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC) 38 in the rescue of the two fishermen, about 90 miles off the coast of Florida. Theodore Roosevelt is underway preparing for future deployments. (U.S. Navy photo)

ATMO vessel rescues two fishermen off Florida coast

Published:

Sep 30, 2014

NAWCAD Public Affairs

NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND, PATUXENT RIVER, Md. – Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) has vessels located throughout the United States providing maritime test platforms for project and program support throughout the fleet.

One of these vessels, NAWC 38 of the Atlantic Targets and Marine Operations (ATMO) Division, Key West Detachment, is a 192-foot-long North Sea Offshore Supply Vessel (OSV) adapted to conduct training in support of Air Anti-submarine Warfare (ASW) Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT&E).

Recently, NAWC 38 and USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) (TR) conducted a joint fleet training exercise off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida, when a bridge watch stander from TR noticed a red flare at 4:30 a.m. Sept. 29. The flare came from a nearby fishing vessel in distress.

"By the time flames went through my air ports and through my roof, [NAWC 38] knew we were in trouble," said Douglas Meagley, one of the fishermen from the burning fishing vessel Captain Star. "Then we got in the life raft and shot off the flare."

Through a coordinated effort, NAWC 38 and TR responded to the engulfed fishing vessel. NAWC 38 quickly launched two High Speed Maneuvering Surface Targets (HSMST)--automated small boats--to rescue the fishermen, then transferred the men to TR's response team who transported the men to the carrier via rigid-hull inflatable boat (RHIB) for medical evaluation. After a full medical evaluation, both fishermen were determined to be unharmed by the fire.

Two High-Speed Maneuvering Surface Targets (HSMST) from NAWC 38 travel toward the burning fishing vessel Captain Star to help rescue two fishermen from their life raft. (U.S. Navy photo)