The global force for good

Pinto Nag sends us a link from NBC that tells the tale of the USS San Antonio which rescued 128 men from their sinking raft.

The USS San Antonio, an amphibious transport dock ship, was called to the scene in the central Mediterranean late on Tuesday as high winds and seas were rocking the boat, U.S. Navy authorities in Italy said in a statement.

The men were offered food, water and medical assistance and are due to be transferred to Maltese vessels later in the day, authorities in Malta said.

More than 550 people are feared drowned after two separate disasters this month when boats carrying migrants capsized and sank in the waters between Libya and the southern Italian island of Lampedusa.

From Stars & Stripes;

U.S. 6th Fleet confirmed on Thursday afternoon that all rescued persons were safely transferred to a Malta Offshore Patrol Vessel. “The US takes our obligation to render assistance to those in need very seriously,” said spokesman Lt. Shawn Eklund.

He said the rescue was “routine in nature” because sailors regularly train for these kinds of scenarios, but also cited it was joint effort with Maltese authorities.

Navy officials described the men as being in “pretty good health” and mostly dehydrated after spending five days at sea with no food or water.

Earlier this month, nearly 400 people died when their overcrowded boats sank off the coast of the Italian island of Lampedusa, southwest of Malta.

In an interview with the BBC, Maltese Prime Minister Joshep Muscat appealed to the European Union to address the issue of migrants who travel by boat from Africa hoping to find asylum and work in Europe.

“As things stand, we are building a cemetery within our Mediterranean Sea,” Muscat told the BBC over the weekend.

Just a few weeks ago, the San Antonio was a floating Guantanamo for that al-Libi terrorist dude and this week rescuing folks. I guess they’re pretty busy on that bo…er…ship writing history.

Category: Navy