24 Pinoy crew members rescued after blast on Liberian-flagged vessel

At least 24 Filipino seafarers were rescued by US Navy forces after an explosion hit a Liberian-flagged chemical tanker they were serving on while navigating in the Arabian Gulf on Thursday. The US Navy said the vessel, Stolt Valor, had sent a distress call while within international waters about 48 nautical miles southeast of Farsi Island, Iran. It said Stolt Valor's master confirmed one crew member died during an explosion, even as the 24 rescued Filipino mariners "were in good health and did not require medical assistance." However, it was not immediately clear if the fatality was also a Filipino. The 24 Filipinos were provided food, water, and blankets, the Navy said. "We were ready to assist and we were fortunately in the position to help," said Cmdr. Jon Duffy, commanding officer of the guided-missile destroyer USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53), which along with the US Coast Guard Cutter Baranof (WPB 1318) rescued the 24 Filipino mariners. A news release from the US Navy said the John Paul Jones, assigned to Combined Maritime Forces' Commander, Task Force 152, responded to a distress call from the Stolt Valor. Once at the scene, the John Paul Jones spotted one of two life rafts signaling with a small light and launched its rigid-hull inflatable boat (RHIB) to investigate. Its crew discovered 16 people in the first life raft and an additional eight mariners in the second life raft. "Coming to the aid of fellow mariners in trouble and conducting search and rescues at sea are critical skills that the Navy trains us to get right," said Duffy. "I couldn't be more proud of how our crews reacted from the initial distress call to when every survivor was safe on deck." The Navy said the 24 survivors were transferred from John Paul Jones to Baranof for repatriation in Manama, Bahrain. Chemical tanker Stolt Valor is a chemical tanker carrying approximately 13,000 metric tons of methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), which is used to increase oxygen content in gasoline throughout the US, to reduce carbon monoxide and ozone levels caused by auto emissions. MTBE is considered soluble, but not biodegradable. Combined Maritime Forces battle watch officer reported the incident to the Marine Emergency Mutual Aid Center, who dispatched tugs with firefighting capability to the scene. Meanwhile, the US 5th Fleet's Naval Cooperation and Guidance for Shipping contacted Stolt-Nielsen Limited to establish a line of communication between the military and the shipping company's crisis response team. The blast's environmental impact is unknown at this time, the Navy said. For now, John Paul Jones and Baranof continued their missions in the US 5th Fleet area of responsibility (AOR). John Paul Jones, assigned to Combined Maritime Forces' Commander, Task Force 152, is conducting maritime security operations in the Arabian Gulf. Baranof is assigned to Commander, Task Force 55 and US Coast Guard Patrol Forces Southwest Asia, supporting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation in the US 5th Fleet AOR. Families being contacted Meanwhile, the Marinelog.com website said the owner of the ship said it is still contacting the seafarers' families. It said Stolt Tankers B.V., a subsidiary of Stolt-Nielsen Limited and operators and owners of MT Stolt Valor, confirmed the vessel suffered an explosion on board while transiting the Persian Gulf. "Families of all the crew are being contacted as a matter of urgency," it said, even as it said one crew member earlier reported as dead was "missing." "Stolt is working in close cooperation with the authorities on site in order to establish the whereabouts of our missing seafarer and the condition of the vessel," it was quoted in the Marinelog.com website as saying. — LBG, GMA News