Eleven crew members of a Portuguese-flagged fishing vessel were rescued on Sunday, June 22, off the coast of the Azores due to the vessel being in an “imminent state of sinking.”
In a statement, the Portuguese Navy reported that the ‘Carmen’ boat was located “about 300 nautical miles, equivalent to approximately 560 kilometers, northeast of the island of São Miguel.”
The rescue of the 11 crew members, who had already boarded the liferaft, was carried out at 4:21 PM (local time, one hour less than mainland Portugal) by the merchant ship BUSHU MARU, which was sailing approximately 20 nautical miles, equivalent to 37 kilometers away.
The crew members, of Portuguese, Indonesian, and Moroccan nationalities, were aboard the MV BUSHU MARU en route to their destination port in Dunkirk, France.
The health status of the crew was not disclosed by the Portuguese authorities.
The operation, which began at 11:39 AM (local time, one hour less than mainland Portugal), was conducted by the Portuguese Navy, through the Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Center of Ponta Delgada (MRCC Delgada), with assistance from the Bahamas-registered merchant ship MV BUSHU MARU.
Last week, the Portuguese Navy also led an operation along with the Judiciary Police (PJ) and other authorities off the Autonomous Region of the Azores, specifically near the Western Group islands (Flores and Corvo) of the archipelago.
However, in this other case, the action was related not to a potential shipwreck but rather to the transport of nearly two tons of cocaine.
In a statement from the PJ, inspectors revealed on Friday that the vessel in question, an 11-meter boat making the Atlantic crossing between South America and Europe, was intercepted with 1,660 kilos of cocaine.
In addition to the drugs, authorities found three men of foreign nationality on board, aged between 43 and 51.
The operation, dubbed Vikings, is described by Portuguese authorities as “the result of a complex investigation over the past two years, aiming to dismantle an international and transcontinental criminal organization dedicated to introducing large quantities of cocaine into Europe, using our country as a platform.”
In the same statement released on Friday, the PJ reported that, concurrently, as part of an investigation opened in Spain targeting the same criminal organization, the Spanish National Police, in coordination with Portuguese authorities, launched Operation Aproa and arrested a man believed to be the leader of the organization.
At the suspect’s residence, authorities found 63,000 euros in cash, a GPS device, a taser, numerous computing and communication devices, some encrypted, and an unspecified amount of foreign currency.
11-meter vessel, engaged in Atlantic crossing between South America and Europe, detected off the Western Group of the archipelago.
Natacha Nunes Costa | 11:41 – 20/06/2025
