Pune Captain Turns Ship Around In Atlantic, Rescues Three Stranded Men And Their Dog

Pune: In the middle of the dark Atlantic, with waves rising up to four metres and a powerless vessel drifting helplessly, Captain Raj Srivastava, a 58-year-old, had one thought in his mind, “We have to save them.”

For the Pune-based Master Mariner, what followed on July 11 became one of the most memorable rescues of his more than three-decade career at sea.

Srivastava, who lives in Nirmal Township, Pune, was commanding the MV Aruna Ismail when he received a distress relay from the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) about a vessel in trouble. Three people Canadian citizen Dwayne Theriault and US citizens Johnny Angelico Auden Allen and Raul David Auden Allen- were stranded aboard the vessel along with their Pitbull dog, Kira.

The vessel had lost power, and the three men and Kira had been left drifting in the Atlantic for days, with no adequate food or water.

“My first thought was very simple: we have to go and save them. There was no second thought. The first consideration was humanity, and the second was seamanship,” Srivastava said.

His ship was around 46 nautical miles from the distressed vessel, and he immediately altered course and informed Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC), Norfolk that he was proceeding at maximum safe speed.

It took nearly four hours to reach the location. By then, it was pitch dark, and the Atlantic was rough. The small vessel carrying Theriault, Johnny and Raul and their dog Kira was drifting at about 2.5 knots, while the much larger Aruna Ismail was rolling and pitching in the heavy swell.

Bringing the two vessels close enough for a rescue proved extremely difficult for them. Srivastava attempted the approach three times, but each attempt failed as the waves pushed the vessels unpredictably. He said, “It was one of the most demanding ship-handling situations of my entire career. Failure was simply not an option. Somehow, we had to get these people out of the sea.”

On the fourth attempt, the captain managed to bring the vessels close enough for his crew to establish a connection using the Line Throwing Apparatus, after which Dwayne Theriault, Johnny Angelico Auden Allen and Raul David Auden Allen were brought safely aboard, followed by Kira.

The survivors were visibly shaken. Once inside the ship, they were given water, tea and coffee and allowed to contact their families.

“When I met them later, they held my hand and said, ‘Captain, you are like a God to us. We had lost all hope.’ Those words touched me deeply,” said Srivastava.

For the Pune captain, the rescue was not an individual achievement. He credits his crew for standing beside him through every difficult manoeuvre.

The United States Coast Guard later commended Srivastava and his crew for their response and seamanship. India’s Directorate General of Shipping also recognised the rescue as an exemplary search-and-rescue operation.

For Srivastava, the certificate is an honour, but the real reward was seeing Dwayne, Johnny, Raul and Kira brought to safety.

“Sometimes, the greatest achievement of a Captain is not reaching the next port. It is simply having the courage to turn your ship around when someone needs help,” he said.

That night, a Pune man’s ship changed course and brought three strangers and their dog safely home.