Crew adrift for 20 days, rescued by cruise liner

By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer

Crew members of an Indonesian tanker were on solid ground last night after spending 20 harrowing days adrift on their crippled vessel after a fire killed one sailor and badly burned another.

Crewmen from the Indonesian-flagged tanker Insiko 1907 were brought to shore by the U.S. Coast Guard yesterday in Kailua on the Big Island. The men were adrift for more than two weeks before a cruise ship rescued them. West Hawaii Today

The crew of the Indonesian tanker Insiko 1907 spent last night in Kona after being rescued by the cruise ship Norwegian Star yesterday morning. The Coast Guard brought 10 crewmen to the Kailua, Kona, pier where they were processed by the Immigration and Naturalization Service. The sailor who suffered burns had been flown to a hospital on O'ahu.

The 10 sailors at Kona were reported in good condition. The ship's captain, who is from Taiwan, and his crew from the People's Republic of China, did not want to comment last night.

"They seemed fine physically," said Steve Roberson, INS port director in Kona. "None of them complained of any problems."

The fire broke out aboard the 256-foot tanker on March 13.

The 50-year-old injured sailor was flown to O'ahu yesterday morning and was in satisfactory condition at Straub Clinic & Hospital. No names were released last night.

The Insiko 1907 flies under the Indonesian flag and was described by the Coast Guard and INS as a refueling tanker.

The Insiko crew reported that a major fire in the engine room gutted the tanker, leaving the ship adrift. The crew also told Norwegian Star officers that one crew member died in the fire and another was seriously injured.

All 11 survivors were brought aboard the Norwegian Star, and the Coast Guard on O'ahu was notified shortly before 8 a.m. yesterday. An HH-65 rescue helicopter picked up the injured sailor at about 9 a.m.

He was brought to Kuakini Medical Center, then transferred to Straub's burn unit. A hospital spokeswoman said the man suffered burns on 23 percent of his body.

The Coast Guard cutter Assateague met the Norwegian Star about 200 miles south of the Big Island and picked up the other 10 sailors. Last night in Kona, they were turned over to shipping agent Transmarine Navigation, which will make arrangements for their return to China.

This video from the Coast Guard shows the burned crewman from the Indonesian-registered fishing vessel being transported by helicopter from the Norwegian Star 200 miles south of Big Island to Kuakini Hospital in Honolulu via Hilo. U.S. Coast Guard

The crew is expected to be brought to O'ahu today.

The dead sailor was left aboard the ship. Coast Guard spokesman David Mosley said the vessel is in international waters and it will be up to the Indonesian government and the ship's owner to decide what to do next.

Donald Radcliffe, INS district director in Honolulu, described the Insiko as a "reprovisioning ship" that provides food, water and fuel to commercial fishing vessels in the area. He said he was told a large explosion and fire cracked the hull of the vessel and destroyed the vessel's electrical equipment and engines.

The Norwegian Star aborted its trip to Fanning Island, about 1,200 miles south of Hawai'i. A cruise line spokesman said the ship was scheduled to arrive in Lahaina at 8 this morning.

Norwegian Star Capt. Niklas Peterstam told passengers aboard the Honolulu-based cruise ship that the Insiko crew had been trying for days to attract the attention of passing ships, but none of their flares was spotted.

The cruise ship sent one of its smaller boats to the Insiko to rescue the crew.

Staff writer Mike Gordon, Gannett News Service reporter Susan Roth and Gannett Co. news executive Jennifer Carroll contributed to this report.