Norfolk-based Mesa Verde rescues sailors in the Mediterranean

Ten mariners from Morocco were rescued from the Mediterranean Sea three days after their vessel capsized.

The vessel had capsized in rough seas, leaving the mariners without food or water for three days, a U.S. Navy news release said. The Norfolk-based amphibious transport dock ship Mesa Verde was the first to stop and offer assistance on Tuesday.

“The Moroccan sailors thanked us all profusely,” Cpl. Aaron Payne, a translator, said in the news release. “They credited us with being the only ones willing to help them when most others just passed them by.”

It took the Mesa Verde crew members about 90 minutes to bring the mariners aboard the ship. They were taken to the ship’s medical ward and were treated for hypothermia and dehydration.

The mariners were later transferred to the Spanish coast guard.

The Mesa Verde is part of the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group and deployed from Norfolk on March 23. Following a 10-month assignment in the 5th and 6th Fleet area of responsibilities, the ships are returning home.