THE USS Mustin “The fishermen had no radio, no way of contacting the coast guard, and were relying on the luck of finding other people out at sea for help.”

Two distressed Filipino fishermen were rescued by a US warship as their fishing boat suffered an engine malfunction at West Philippine Sea (WPS), an American naval officer has said.

The rescue was undertaken by the crew of the Arleigh Burke class-guided destroyer USS Mustin (DDG 89) who saw the two fishermen waving their shirts over their heads.

“The Mustin feels very fortunate to have been at the right place at the right time in order to provide assistance to fellow mariners while conducting routine operations in the South China Sea (SCS),” said Commander Warren Smith, Mustin commanding officer.

WPS and SCS refer to the same body of water being disputed by the Philippines and China, among other countries.

“That pride extends from my bridge watch officers who spotted the Filipino mariners in the distance indicating distress by waving their shirts over their heads,” said Smith.

The American also credited “our Tagalog speakers who could break through the language barrier to determine the extent of the distress, and finally to my small boat team for their ability to tow the fishing boat to safety during heavy rain, lightning and thunderstorms.”

The fishermen on board had water but no food, and they were also unable to communicate via radio.

“Based on the conversation that they had with us, the fishermen had no radio, no way of contacting the coast guard, and were relying on the luck of finding other people out at sea for help,” said Boatswain’s Mate 3rd Class Arleen Castro.

After sending them back on land, the USS Mustin crew provided the fishermen three days of food before embarking on their routine patrol.

USS Mustin is forward-deployed to the US 7th Fleet area of operations in support of security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.