Rescuers saved all 31
crew members from the fishing vessel Atlantic Destiny hours before it went down Wednesday. The ship was in distress and taking on water after a fire broke out on board Tuesday night off the southwest coast of Nova Scotia.
Maj. Mark Norris, acting commander of the 413 Transport and Rescue Squadron at CFB Greenwood, said in an interview it was "a very, very difficult night," complicated by high winds and six- to eight-metre swells.
"Getting a call any night for a rescue mission, whether it's four people or 31 people, is challenging," he said. "But the size and the amount of folks that we had to rescue was quite significant, given that we had very challenging conditions on scene and it was nighttime."
"Norris said a Cormorant helicopter malfunctioned during the rescue after hoisting six people off the Atlantic Destiny, while two search and rescue technicians were still on the ship with the crew.
He said the malfunction led them to stop their rescue operations, secure and make the aircraft safe, get to a safe altitude and get back to shore. The aircraft flew back to the airport in Yarmouth and stayed there
while two U.S. Coast Guard helicopters from Cape Cod lifted 21 crew off the vessel, one by one.
It took about 12 hours to get everyone to safety.
The issue with the Canadian helicopter was a hydraulic malfunction.
A second Cormorant was dispatched from Greenwood to try to airlift the last four crew members and the two technicians, but encountered issues with its hoist.
The remaining six had to jump in very rough seas off the much higher Atlantic Destiny to the small Zodiac.
By then, the Canadian Coast Guard — which Norris described as the "unsung hero in this whole operation" — was on scene with its vessel Cape Roger, which used a fast-rescue craft to get the last six people off the ship.