March 26, 2014 Chuuk, FSM — The 19 foot skiff with two persons aboard that was reported overdue 13 days ago from Chuuk, Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) was located near Satawal, Yap State on March 25, 2014.
Locals from the island of Satawal spotted a vessel with one person aboard drifting one nautical mile offshore and launched a vessel to assist. They quickly determined the vessel was the missing 19 foot skiff and immediately rendered assistance to the 50 year old survivor. U.S. Coast Guard Sector Guam was notified of the rescue via Pan- Pacific Education and Communication Experiments by Satellite (PEACESAT) Guam. PEACESAT provides public service satellite telecommunications to remote islands throughout the Pacific.
The survivor is fatigued, but in good health. The second man reportedly jumped overboard a week earlier, a few days after the vessel became disabled and adrift. Officials from FSM are arranging to transport the survivor back to his home in Chuuk State. Satawal is approximately 302 nautical miles west of where the vessel became disabled in Chuuk State.
Multiple resources from FSM, Australia the U.S. and commercial mariners conducted searches for the overdue vessel, which departed from Chuuk on March 13. The resources included five “Good Samaritan” commercial ships, one U.S. Coast Guard C-130 aircraft from Barbers Point, Hawaii, one U.S. Navy P-3 aircraft from Okinawa, Japan, one Australian P-3 aircraft, and the Patrol Boat FSS Micronesia from Pohnpei, FSM. A total of 5300 square nautical miles were covered during the search.