CREW OF DISABLED TONGA VESSEL RESCUED
The U.S. Coast Guard has rescued 17 crewmen from the White Seal, a 600-foot cargo ship disabled off Cape Hatteras.
Responding to a distress signal received in Norfolk, a Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules and two HH-60 Jayhawk helicopters hoisted the crewmen from the White Seal, which was rolling 45 degrees and taking on water. During the aerial rescue, seas reached heights of 40 feet, whipped by 40-knot winds.
The ship, which was not carrying cargo, had been delayed by engine problems en route from Haiti to Bridgeport, Mass. The White Seal’s homeport is Tonga, a small island in the South Pacific.