A fishing vessel based in Vigo, Spain, sank overnight on Thursday, August 28, near the Azores archipelago.
The 11 crew members aboard the ‘Nuevo Salmón’ were rescued and are safe and sound.
On social media, the Spanish Maritime Rescue Service announced that the fishermen were rescued by the merchant ship CS Standard and transported by helicopter to the Azorean island of São Miguel. Three of the sailors are Galician, and the remainder are Indonesian.
A Spanish fishing vessel, Nuevo Salmón, sank 150 miles east of the Azores (Portuguese SAR zone). Its 11 crew members were rescued, in good condition, by the merchant CS Standard and airlifted to the Azores. The emergency was coordinated by RCC Ponta Delgada. Received at CNCS… pic.twitter.com/ZTy9xTeg90
— SALVAMENTO MARÍTIMO (@salvamentogob) August 29, 2025
According to the crew of the sunken vessel, the accident was caused by a “leak” detected on Thursday night, which they were unable to contain.
The Portuguese Navy and Air Force were involved in the rescue effort.
The Portuguese Navy sent a statement with more information about the rescue, conducted through the Ponta Delgada Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Center (MRCC Delgada), in coordination with the Air Search and Rescue Coordination Center (RCC Lajes).
The alert, received at 9 p.m. local time, one hour behind mainland Portugal, reported a fishing vessel with 11 crew members onboard experiencing “water ingress while navigating approximately 170 nautical miles (about 315 kilometers) east of São Miguel.”
Two aircraft from the Portuguese Air Force were deployed to the location, along with a nearby merchant ship.
When the Portuguese military arrived, the crew had already abandoned the vessel using two lifeboats “due to their inability to contain and pump out the water.”
Subsequently, they were rescued by the merchant ship that arrived at the scene.
All fishermen, who were in good physical condition, were then transported by the EH-101 Merlin helicopter of the Air Force to Ponta Delgada city on the island of São Miguel, without needing medical assistance.
The Navy explained that the performed search and rescue operation involved the MRCC Delgada, RCC Lajes, an EH-101 helicopter, a C-295 aircraft from the Air Force, and a merchant vessel.
The Air Force also issued a statement on the situation and released a video of the rescue.
[News updated at 12:57 p.m.]
