{"id":23803,"date":"2026-01-23T19:02:18","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T19:02:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/?p=23803"},"modified":"2026-01-23T19:02:18","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T19:02:18","slug":"tanker-rescues-stranded-belgian-rower-competing-in-worlds-toughest-row-in-atlantic-ocean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/?p=23803","title":{"rendered":"Tanker Rescues Stranded Belgian Rower Competing In World\u2019s Toughest Row In Atlantic Ocean"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tanker Rescues Stranded Belgian Rower Competing In World\u2019s Toughest Row In Atlantic Ocean
\n \t

\n
<\/BR>
\n
\n \t

\n
<\/BR><\/p>\n

\n
\"Tanker<\/div>\n
\"row\"
Image Credits: USCG<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A Belgian solo rower competing in the World\u2019s Toughest Row was rescued in the Atlantic Ocean after his boat capsized in rough seas, prompting a tanker to divert its course for more than 12 hours.<\/p>\n

The rower, 47-year-old Benoit Bourguet, was racing alone in the 3,000-mile World\u2019s Toughest Row, from San Sebastian de la Gomera, Spain, to Nelson\u2019s Dockyard, Antigua.<\/p>\n

His single-man vessel, City of Liverpool, was struck by two rogue waves in 13 to 15-foot seas, forcing him to deploy a life raft and remain adrift while keeping his capsized boat attached.<\/p>\n

The US Coast Guard Sector San Juan Command Center received an unregistered 406 MHz EPIRB distress signal from Bourguet\u2019s boat at around 2 a.m. on Wednesday, about 1,100 nautical miles east of Puerto Rico.<\/p>\n

A second alert from his personal locator beacon followed. Race officials confirmed that multiple attempts to contact him had failed.<\/p>\n

In response, the Coast Guard issued an Automated Mutual-Assistance Vessel Rescue (AMVER) call and alerted nearby ships, including race participants. Calls from the rowing vessel Old Sea Dogs also went unanswered.<\/p>\n

The Horten, a 1,092-foot Liberian-flagged tanker managed by Zodiac Maritime, received the AMVER alert and diverted 110 nautical miles, taking over 12 hours to reach Bourguet.<\/p>\n

The Coast Guard stayed in contact, providing updates on the life raft\u2019s location.<\/p>\n

Once on site, the tanker crew located Bourguet in his life raft and rescued him using a life ring despite heavy seas. He was dehydrated but otherwise in good health and had been adrift for nearly 24 hours.<\/p>\n

No other competitors in the race were reported in distress. Plans are underway to transfer Bourguet from the tanker in coordination with race organisers.<\/p>\n

Reference: USCG<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\t

\n
<\/BR>
\n MI News Network
\n \t

\n
<\/BR>
\nGo to marine insight<\/a>
\n \t

\n
<\/BR><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tanker Rescues Stranded Belgian Rower Competing In World\u2019s Toughest Row In Atlantic Ocean Image Credits: USCG A Belgian solo rower competing in the World\u2019s Toughest Row was rescued in the Atlantic Ocean after his boat capsized in rough seas, prompting a tanker to divert its course for more than 12 hours. The rower, 47-year-old Benoit […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194,196],"tags":[197],"class_list":["post-23803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-marine-insight","category-shipping-news","tag-marine-insight"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23803"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=23803"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23803\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=23803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=23803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=23803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}