15926: (Hermantin) Sun-Sentinel-Crew rescued from freighter that later sinks off Hollyw (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Posted on Mon, Jun. 16, 2003



Crew rescued from freighter that later sinks off Hollywood



sun-sentinel.com

June 16, 2003, 3:00 PM EDT

HOLLYWOOD – The captain and crew of a flooding coastal freighter were
rescued by the Coast Guard early Monday and the stricken vessel was later
sunk offshore.

The 206-foot Honduran-flagged Silhouette was about 1-1/2 miles offshore in
the Atlantic when the Coast Guard received word shortly after midnight that
it was taking on water, listing and in danger of sinking, Petty Officer
Danielle DeMarino said in an updated statement released atround 2:35 p.m.

The captain and a crew of seven, along with a passenger, all Haitians, were
safely evacuated from the stricken ship to a Coast Guard rescue boat and
were taken to the Fort Lauderdale Coast Guard station. The nine men were
interviewed later Monday by Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement
agents. The crew was eventually turned over to the custody of the vessel's
Custom's agent, Five Star Shipping.

Later Monday morning, a commercial salvage operator towed the Silhouette out
to sea. The vessel capsized in deepwater and sank in about 300 feet of water
about five miles due east of Hollywood's famed beach, she said.

``Because it was sinking already, our goal was to get it into deeper waters
so it would not hinder navigation,'' DeMarino explained.

Later in the day, DeMarino said the sinking of the ship caused a small
debris field and a light to moderate slick of diesel fuel approximately a
half-mile long. Diesel fuel evaporates quickly in summer conditions due to
the sunlight and heat and the spill should not have any long-term
environmental impact, she said.

Still, other debris from the ship was reported washed ashore in Fort
Lauderdale Monday morining. Fire Rescue workers there reported finding
propane tanks on beaches on both the 500 block of South A1A and the 300
block of North A1A before 10 a.m.

DeMarino said the ship was carrying rice, beans, cooking oil and other
supplies and foodstuffs when it left Miami on Saturday, June 14th, bound for
an unknown port in Haiti. It also carried 6,000 gallons of diesel oil.

Shortly after sailing the Silhouette experienced engine problems and began
drifting, then anchored off Hollywood beach. The Coast Guard was not called
about the Silhouette's mechanical problems until evacuation was necessary,
DeMarino said. By that time, the ship was listing 20 degrees.

"They were probably taking on water at the same time," DeMarino said.
Copyright © 2003, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

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