Navy ships rescue 12 fishermen stranded in Indian Ocean, South China Sea

By The Liberty Telegraph | October 12, 2018

Sailors from two Navy ships — the USNS Wally Schirra and USS Decatur — rescued a dozen fishermen stranded this week in the Indian Ocean and South China Sea.

The noncommissioned dry cargo ship Wally Schirra was conducting a routine mission in the South China Sea Monday when its crew spotted a makeshift vessel carrying five Filipino fishermen, a Navy statement said.

The men were waving their arms and flashing lights to capture the crew’s attention, Keith Sauls, the Wally Schirra’s civilian captain, said in the statement.

Their fishing boat sank seven days prior to the rescue after a blue marlin punctured the hull, the statement said.

“The fishermen salvaged what they could from the rapidly sinking boat, removing the outriggers and planks to turn it into a raft with floats and barrels underneath for floatation,” civilian mariner Leon Hadley, the Wally Schirra’s chief mate, said in the statement.