Aaron Carotta made an emergency call in late May. The searches were interrupted a few days ago, now he was rescued by an oil tanker.
An American adventurer in distress in the South Pacific has been rescued by an oil tanker several days after the search for him at sea was abandoned. French Polynesian officials said Aaron Carotta was found in his lifeboat on Friday. He was in distress at sea in the South Pacific after departing South America on a solo circumnavigation of the world in his rowboat “Smiles”.
On May 31, Carotta sent a distress signal from the “Smiles”. After that, communication was interrupted. Her rowboat capsized by a wave, Carotta saved herself in her lifeboat. Five merchant ships and four pleasure craft took part in the search for the American adventurer. On June 12, the search was finally stopped.
Carotta is said to be back on dry land on June 25th.
After that, however, another distress signal was received from the “Smiles”. A US plane, which happened to be in the area on another search mission, ended up spotting Carotta’s boat east of the Marquesas Islands, in an area of the sea where few ships sail.
The nearest ship, the oil tanker Baker Spirit, was 390 kilometers away. The tanker changed course, headed for “Smiles” and managed to rescue Carotta 18 hours later. The “Baker Spirit” then departed for Hawaii again, where Carotta is scheduled to disembark in Honolulu on June 25th. (APA/DPA)