(Aug. 14) A sailing boat with on board with a pair of French was
rescued by the Andrea Doria, while the latter patrolled the waters of
the Gulf of Aden as part of the anti-piracy mission, Atalanta. The
mayday was picked up by the German Maritime Air Patrol, Jester, also
part of the 465 – Atalanta Task Force. The Doria ship, under the
command of Captain Gianfranco Annunziata, was the closest and thus
intervened. Immediately, the helicopter rose in the air to assess the
situation. Once satisfied that the crew of the boat was in good health
and that the boat had no problems of buoyancy, a technical team
intervened to verify the nature of the problems to the engine and
tried to repair it. The intervention, which lasted several hours,
allowed the French resume sailing, but not before receiving a special
recommendation to follow the coastal routes and to stay as far away as
possible from the piracy areas.
