ANCHORAGE, Alaska — An India-flagged bulk cargo freighter with a failed engine was adrift Sunday in the North Pacific, being tossed about by stormy seas and fierce winds, the Coast Guard said.
The 28 crew members aboard the 740-foot APJ Suryavir planned to abandon ship and board a Samaritan freighter expected to arrive early today, the Coast Guard said. A Coast Guard plane was bringing them supplies.
There were no reports of injuries and the ship was not taking on water, according to the Coast Guard.
The Suryavir is carrying no cargo, making it unstable in the 30-foot seas about 540 miles southwest of Alaska’s Adak Island, Coast Guard Lt. Nate Johnson said. Winds were reported at 60 mph.
The ship ran into engine problems several days ago en route from China to the Columbia River in Oregon, but the crew radioed for help late Sunday morning only when the weather turned bad. Johnson said it’s not unusual for ship crews to fix their engines in calmer weather.
