Vessel en route from Cuba towed to New York for repairs

Vessel en route from Cuba towed to New York for repairs A ship that lost power 88 miles off the coast of Nantucket the day after Christmas while en route from Cuba to Canada has been towed to New York and is now in a Bayonne drydock.
   The U.S. Coast Guard said the Agaman, a 331-foot general cargo container ship, owned by the Komrowski Shipping Company of Hamburg, lost power when contaminated fuel seized its engines and generators, rendering the ship powerless and adrift in 15-foot seas.
   The Agaman was towed to New York and brought to a dry dock on Sunday afternoon.
   The Coast Guard said there were no reports of injuries.
   Falcon jets from the Coast Guard Air Station on Cape Cod flew to the ship after it reported losing power, and two merchant ships participating in the Automated Mutual Assistance Vessel Rescue System (Amver) remained alongside the ship.
   The first ship to come to Agaman’s rescue was the 524-foot bulk carrier Dual Confidence that was relieved Thursday by the 598-foot Greek-flagged tanker Aegeas.
With help from the Aegeas. chief engineer, the Agaman’s chief engineer was able to make repairs to provide limited power to operate their radios, but they were unable to restore heat for the crew.
   The crew of the Agaman’s    will not have enough food to last the voyage and kept warm by wearing extra clothes and tending a fire on the poop deck, where they cooked food, said Karavidas Georgios, the master of the Aegeas..
   The Aegeas. remained on scene with the Agaman’s    until the Moselle, a 595-foot Danish tanker, relieved them at 5:00 p.m.
   Komrowski Shipping contracted for the Atlantic Salvor, a 151-foot ocean-going tug from Hillside, N.J.-based DonJon Marine Company, to take supplies to the Agaman’s    crew and tow the disabled ship more than 170 miles to the Port of New York and New Jersey for repairs.
   Lt. Michael Nalli, the Coast Guard's command duty officer in Boston,
praised the assistance provided by the Amver vessels.
'Because the Agaman’s    is presently in no danger of sinking, the Amver vessels' assistance allows us to keep our cutters focused on protecting the homeland, enforcing our nation’s fisheries regulations, and rescuing those in peril.'
   Benjamin M. Strong, Amver maritime relations officer, said there are about 3,200 ships Amver 'good Samaritan' vessels available to carry out search-and-rescue services.