Coast Guard aircrew aids BVI-bound cargo vessel taking on water in Caribbean Sea

SAN JUAN — The aircrew of a Coast Guard MH-60T helicopter assisted a BVI-bound cargo vessel that was taking on water in the Caribbean Sea, approximately 22 nautical miles south of Puerto Rico.

The Sea Falcon, a Vanuatu-flagged 121-foot offshore supply ship, was transiting to Tortola, British Virgin Islands with four people aboard while transporting two vehicles, construction materials, glass and one container with dry goods on Saturday.

Coast Guard watchstanders at Sector San Juan received a distress call from the master of the Sea Falcon late Friday night reporting that there was a crack in the vessel’s hull and that the estimated the rate of flooding was approximately 300 gallons per minute. He further relayed that the crew was using dewatering pumps that were not keeping up with flooding in the bilge.