MIAMI — Coast Guard rescue crews assisted a 73-foot commercial fishing boat, Kayden Nicole, after it started taking on water about 46 miles northwest of Key West.
The Kayden Nicole’s emergency positioning indicating radio beacon alerted Coast Guard watchstanders that the three person crew was in distress.
Station Key West’s 45-foot Response Boat—Medium crew arrived on scene and transferred a dewatering pump to the fishing crew. An Air Station Clearwater MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew arrived on scene and passed a second dewatering pump to the boat. Once the flooding was under control, the response boat crew took the Kayden Nicole in tow and brought it closer to shore.
The owner of the boat made arrangements for another ship in their fleet to arrive and bring the boat back home to Fort Myers.
“Due to the crew having a working and properly registered EPIRB, we were able to send rescue crews directly to their location to give them the help they needed,” said Lt. j.g. Evan Sutton, command duty officer, Sector Key West.
No injuries or pollution concerns were reported.