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Nkikkei Verde saved mariner after two month's ordeal

A 29-year-old man arrived in good condition to Honolulu on May 4, 2016, aboard a Coast Guard small boat after being rescued by the "Nikkei Verde" in the Southeastern Pacific Ocean and surviving a two-month ordeal at sea. A Coast Guard 45-foot Response Boat-Medium crew from Station Honolulu safely transported the man from the "Nikkei Verde" offshore of Honolulu to the Coast Guard Base in the morning to meet awaiting EMS in stable condition. JRCC watchstanders in Honolulu received notification on Apr 26, from the master of the vessel, reporting while on their voyage to China his crew had located a man stranded at sea aboard a 23-foot skiff. They brought him aboard and requested medical advice and assistance to return the man to his home country. They were located about 2,150 miles southeast of Hilo, but still within the Coast Guard’s area of responsibility for search and rescue at the time of the report. A Coast Guard flight surgeon provided medical advice to the crew. Coast Guard officials worked with the "Nikkei Verde" to arrange a transfer near Honolulu and coordinated with the Colombian consul in San Francisco who arranged for transportation, Customs clearance, lodging, any hospital care, and an escort ahead of his arrival to Honolulu. According to the survivor he and three companions set out from Columbia more than two months earlier. Once the skiff’s engine became disabled they were adrift. He said he caught and ate fish and seagulls to stay alive. The three other men reportedly perished at sea. Their bodies were not aboard the skiff when located by Nikkei Verde’s crew; however, the survivor did surrender their passports to officials. The Coast Guard assisted in the man’s rescue but is not investigating the case as the circumstances fall outside Coast Guard purview. Report with photos and video: http://www.uscgnews.com/go/doc/4007/2815902/