Ship stranded in Gulf by Ike
Coast Guard says freighter must ride out storm
Associated PressOriginally published 09:25 a.m., September 12, 2008Updated 09:25 a.m., September 12, 2008
HOUSTON — Twenty-two people aboard a 584-foot freighter adrift in the Gulf of Mexico must ride out Hurricane Ike because it's too dangerous for a rescue attempt, the U.S. Coast Guard said Friday.
Chief Petty Officer Mike O'Berry, of the Coast Guard's New Orleans Office, said stormy seas will prevent Coast Guard aircraft or ships from reaching the ship about 90 miles southeast of Galveston. Category 2 Ike's 105-mph winds could cause 50-foot waves, the Coast Guard said.
"Based on where the storm is, they're stuck to ride the storm out," O'Berry said. "We don't have any aircraft to send into hurricane-force winds. It's going to be a rocky ride of course, but the fact that there are 22 people on board helps. They'll probably be able to drop anchor in shallow waters."
If the crew were removed, he said, "you basically have a 584-foot unmanned vessel headed toward Galveston."
He said the Coast Guard is in constant communication with the ship.
The Coast Guard got a pre-dawn distress call from the vessel had lost propulsion, he said. No details were immediately available on the name of the ship, which was hauling petroleum coke, or details on where it was headed. It's right in the way of Ike, forecast to strike somewhere near Galveston late Friday.
Ike's eye was forecast to strike somewhere near Galveston late Friday, but the massive system was already buffeting Texas and Louisiana.
The National Weather Service warned residents of smaller structures on Galveston they could "face certain death" if they ignored an order to evacuate; most had complied.
Blogger note: I haven't heard anything this morning. I wonder what the night would have been like???
