PORTSMOUTH, Va. – The Coast Guard assisted a disabled 78-foot fishing vessel with three people aboard 40 miles southeast of Cape Hatteras, N.C., Tuesday in heavy wind and seas.
The Coast Guard received notification at 12:40 a.m. Tuesday that the Nanami was disabled and needed assistance.
A 47-foot motor life boat crew from Station Hatteras Inlet located the vessel and remained on scene until the Coast Guard Cutter Vigorous arrived to perform the tow.
“The crew was in 20 foot seas and 40 knot winds. They departed the unit at 10 Tuesday night and did not return to the station until 8:30 Wednesday morning,” said Chief Petty Officer Erik J. Watson, executive petty officer of Station Hatteras Inlet.
The Vigorous crew transferred the Nanami to the Coast Guard Cutter Block Island crew Wednesday who towed it to the Cape Fear River.
While in the river, the crew of the Nanami was able to start the engines after determining that the cause of the casualty was bad fuel. The Block Island escorted Nanami to the mouth of the river, where a boat crew from Station Oak Island met and took over escorting the Nanami to Southport Marina in Southport, N.C., Thursday.
