Military Sealift vessel saves the day for stranded container vessel

Military Sealift vessel saves the day for stranded container vessel Civil service mariners aboard Military Sealift Command ammunition ship USNS Shasta (T-AE 33) rescued all crew members aboard a disabled commercial cargo ship over the weekend in the Western Pacific near Saipan, the command said in a release.
   Just after sunset on Saturday, the Shasta received a request from the U.S. Navy's 7th Fleet Battle Watch Center to assist the ill-fated Haurosi, which reported a major engine room fire. The Shasta made the 90-mile voyage to the Haurosi's location in four hours, using the transit time to prepare the flight deck for helicopter operations and ready the Shasta's towing and firefighting equipment.
   'As we approached, we could see the crew on deck waving flashlights,' said Capt. R.J. Bellfi, Shasta's civil service master.
   After refueling a U.S. Navy HH-60 helicopter from Guam that was already on scene, Shasta's crew dispatched a boarding team to the Haurosi in the ship's rigid-hull, inflatable boat. Once onboard the Haurosi, Cargo Officer Robert Foor assessed the damage to the ship and condition of the crew. The fire was fully extinguished, but the Haurosi was adrift without propulsion or power.
   'They were a bit exhausted, but appeared to be in good shape,' Foor said of the crew.
   The Haurosi and its crew were five days into a voyage from Pusan to the Solomon Islands when the fire occurred.
   The Shasta set up temporary lighting to monitor the ship throughout the night. The following morning, in rain showers and gusty winds, the Shasta attached a tow line to Haurosi and set course for Saipan, the nearest port.
   All five Haurosi crewmembers were transferred to the Shasta and received general medical services, a hot meal, clean clothing and a place to sleep. The Shasta's crew passed the hat and collected $800 for the Haurosi's crew, all citizens of the Solomon Islands.
   The Shasta safely delivered the Haurosi and its crew to Saipan early Monday morning.
   The 564-foot, 20,000-ton Shasta is one of Military Sealift Command's five ammunition ships, and is one of 39 ships in the Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force program that provide logistics support to U.S. Navy warships operating in the Western Pacific and Indian Oceans. The ship has a crew of 134 civil service mariners employed by MSC as well as two military personnel.
   MSC operates about 110 noncombatant, civilian-crewed ships that replenish U.S. Navy ships, chart ocean bottoms, conduct undersea surveillance, strategically preposition combat cargo at sea around the world and move military cargo and supplies used by deployed U.S. forces.