Holland America came to the rescue earlier this week after its MS Veendam cruise ship saved a pilot who had exited his plane following mechanical problems.
On Sunday January 25th 2015, ms Veendam was sailing to Lahaina in Hawaii and received a request from the US Coast Guard asking for assistance in rescuing a pilot. It was said that he had left his single-engine Cirrus SR-22 plane after there had been a mechanical issue with the fuel system.
Responding to the message, crew members aboard ms Veendam took immediate action and sailed to the pilot’s aid, who was located 225 miles off the coast of Maui, Hawaii.
Using the aircraft’s parachute system, the pilot departed from the plane into a life raft where he was welcomed with food and accommodation onboard Veendam.
The pilot, who was in a good condition, disembarked the cruise ship on January 26th at Lahaina.
Holland America Line has performed three rescues at sea this year so far, the other two being the rescue of eight crew members from a sinking vessel in the Caribbean and seven stranded crew members at the Arctowski Polish research station at King George Island in Antarctica
Orlando Ashford, president of Holland America Line, said: “Congratulations to the team on ms Veendam for coming to the aid of the pilot and for working together with the Coast Guard to conduct this successful rescue operation.
“January has been an eventful month for our ships with several rescues around the world, and we are honoured to be able to assist in any distress situation when needed.”
Veendam is on its 18-day Circle Hawaii sailing, which departed on January 20th from San Diego. The rescue of the pilot did not affect its itinerary.
