US Navy ship rescues stranded Pinoy fishers at West PH Sea

CREW of a US Navy missile destroyer recently rescued two distressed Filipino fishermen, whose fishing boat suffered engine malfunction and who ran out of food in the South China Sea ( West Philippine Sea) early this week.

The Arleigh Burke- class guided missile destroyer USS Mustin ( DDG 89) was conducting routine patrol on Tuesday in the disputed West Philippine Sea when its crew saw a fishing vessel with those onboard “frantically waving.”

According to the US 7th Fleet, the USS Mustin pulled alongside and rescued the two fishermen.

The Filipino fishermen only had water onboard with no food and were unable to contact the Philippine Coast Guard.

The USS Mustin contacted a nearby fishing vessel to relay the two stranded fishermen’s situation and deployed their Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat that towed the fishing boat to rejoin their fellow fishermen.

“The Mustin nation feels very fortunate to have been at the right place at the right time in order to provide assistance to fellow mariners while underway conducting routine operations in the South China Sea,” Commander Warren Smith, commanding officer of the USS Mustin, said in a statement.

He added that some of his crew are FilipinoAmericans who were able to break the language barrier for the Filipino fishermen.

The crew of the destroyer provided three days of food to the fishermen before resuming their routine patrol in the West Philippine Sea.