Holland America vessels make two rescues

A Holland America vessel came to the aid of eight crewmembers aboard a sinking vessel in the Caribbean last week, while another responded to a stranded yacht carrying a crew of Antarctic researchers.

At 2:10 a.m. on Jan. 3, while en route to Oranjestad, Aruba, Holland America Line's ms Zuiderdam answered the call from the Bahamian inter-island vessel Excalibur that was sinking with eight crewmembers onboard. Zuiderdam was approximately 15 miles away and the closest ship in the area.

Zuiderdam altered course and was able to successfully execute a nighttime rescue of all eight crewmembers at 3:01 a.m. The ship brought them onboard and provided food and accommodations.  The rescued crewmembers debarked in Aruba on Jan. 5, said a release from Holland America.

Zuiderdam is in the middle of a 10-night Panama Canal cruise roundtrip from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., that departed Jan. 2.

In a separate incident on Jan. 4, Holland America’s ms Zaandam came to the aid of seven crewmembers from the sailing yacht Polonus that were staying at the Arctowski Polish research station at King George Island in Antarctica. The crew, all Polish nationals, were stranded after their yacht went aground. They are being taken to Buenos Aires, Argentina, and will disembark Jan. 11.