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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Saturday, April 6, 2002

Help on the way for dog left on drifting tanker

By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer

The Humane Society is spending an estimated $50,000 in an unusual rescue mission to retrieve a dog from the Insiko 1907, the burned-out refueling tanker whose crew was rescued Tuesday by the Norwegian Star cruise ship.

The crew of the tugboat American Quest and two Humane Society members will try to rescue a dog left behind on a drifting tanker 230 miles southwest of the Big Island.

Cory Lum • The Honolulu Advertiser

Two Hawaiian Humane Society staffers and the crew of the 100-foot tugboat American Quest set out yesterday afternoon for the drifting Insiko, which was about 230 miles southwest of the Big Island. The rescue team is expected to reach the tanker tomorrow.

The Insiko crew was rescued by the Norwegian Star after a fire in the tanker's engine room knocked out power March 13 and the vessel drifted for nearly three weeks before being spotted. Eleven members of the Insiko were rescued by the cruise ship. Not recovered was a sailor on the Indonesian tanker who perished in the engine room fire that crippled the vessel.

But also left behind was a cherished 13th member of the crew — the captain's 2-year-old dog, Forgea.

The Humane Society hired the salvage company American Marine Corp. to help with the rescue. The project, estimated to cost $50,000, is being paid for by the Humane Society and the Humane Society of the United States.

Hawaiian Humane Society spokeswoman Eve Holt defended the cost of the rescue.

"You have to have a basic value for life, and the mission of this organization is to protect animals," Holt said. "I would think there would be much greater outroar from the majority of the community if we said, 'Oh, this is too expensive and we won't do it because of that.' The expense is actually one of the least of the issues that we were concerned with when we decided to under take this."

The Humane Society’s Eve Holt, center, and Rusty Nall of the American Marine Services describe the mission assembled to rescue a dog from the drifting tanker Insiko southwest of the Big Island.

Cory Lum • The Honolulu Advertiser

American Marine Corp. vice president Rusty Nall said he didn't expect any problems reaching and then boarding the Insiko. Still, Nall acknowledged, this is an unusual mission.

"We've been on burning ships and sinking ships and pulled things off the reef before, but we've never really done the rescue of an animal," Nall said. The company has had 27 years experience in salvage operations, Nall said.

He added that his crew is prepared to recover the dead man's body, but his firm had not yet been asked to do so by the ship's owner.

Holt said she believes Forgea is still alive because Insiko Capt. Chung Chin Po left food and water for his pet.

Chung could not be reached for comment yesterday, but a spokeswoman for the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Hawai'i, Ellen Chen, said the Taiwainese captain is looking forward to being reunited with his dog.

Chung has had the 40-pound white dog with him aboard the Indonesian ship since it was 8 weeks old. Chen said Chung described the dog as being "very friendly."

"When they were rescued by the Norwegian Star (Chung) wanted to take the dog, but the staff of the Norwegian Star said he couldn't," Chen said. "Maybe there was a communication problem, but the captain doesn't know why he couldn't take the dog."

Norwegian Star spokesman Steve Hirano said the cruise liner's captain wasn't aware that a dog was on the Insiko. Hirano said Chung also didn't mention the dog.

Hirano could not say, however, whether the dog would have been allowed on the ship.

If Forgea is recovered, it will face possible quarantine, Holt said. But the animal may be released before the quarantine period is over and sent back to Taiwan.

Forgea would also be traveling alone again because his master and the Insiko's engineer, Wong Tehsiong, who was injured in the fire, were scheduled to return to Taiwan today.

The Norwegian Star carries 2,000 passengers and a crew of 1,000 on weekly luxury cruises of the Hawaiian Islands. The liner was en route to Fanning Island, a required non-U.S. stop for each cruise, when it spotted the Insiko. The desperate tanker crew lighted another fire on board and shot off a flare when they spotted the ship.

The Hawaiian Humane Society organized the dog rescue effort after receiving a call Thursday morning from a woman who had seen a television report quoting passengers aboard the Norwegian Star saying they heard a dog barking.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.


Correction: The Humane Society of the United States is not the parent organization of the Hawaiian Humane Society. A previous version of this story contained incorrect information.