Kotzebue, AK – July 10, 2014 – While crossing Kotzebue Sound, Vitus Marine tug NANIQ and barge AVEC-183 responded to a VHF call from Deering, Alaska reporting a disabled vessel near Cape Espenberg. Approximately 10 miles from the coordinates relayed from the shore, the NANIQ received a weak VHF call “Tugboat, look to the left! Tugboat, look to the left!” Scanning the horizon to his port side, Captain Aaron Dykstra spotted a distant speck and changed course. The distressed vessel had 3 women aboard who had left the village of Buckland, some 90 miles away, for Kotzebue the previous day. Their engine had run out of gasoline and their battery was drained from nearly constant bilge pump use. The tug crew shared gasoline and installed a freshly charged battery. Soon a US Coast Guard rescue helicopter arrived on site in response to a request relayed earlier in the day. The women resumed their voyage, shadowed by Guard helicopter and the NANIQ for the final 12 miles into Kotzebue. The borrowed battery was returned to the Vitus office in Kotzebue the following day with many thanks.
Story covered in the following publications:
http://www.maritime-executive.com/article/Tug-Crew-Assists-Disabled-Vessel-2014-07-10
