JOINT BASE CAPE COD — It was a harrowing Tuesday night with 35 mph winds and 15-foot seas when members of U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod assisted in the rescue of 31 fishermen from a disabled vessel that sank off the coast of Nova Scotia. 

“It was a very challenging affair,” Lt. Travis Christy, commander on the MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter that helped in the rescue, said during a press conference at Joint Base Cape Cod Wednesday afternoon. 

At 7:05 p.m. Tuesday, the Rescue Coordination Center in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, was notified that the 143-foot Canadian vessel Atlantic Destiny was disabled with a fire on board and was taking on water.

Coast Guard Air station Cape Cod

A Coast Guard Air station Cape Cod HC-144 Ocean Sentry fixed-wing crew and two MH-60 Jayhawk helicopters crews launched to the scene.

The two Jayhawk helicopters hoisted 21 fishermen between them. The fishermen were taken to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, where they were transferred for any medical treatment. 

Another six members were hoisted from the vessel by a Royal Canadian Air Force CH-149 helicopter crew from 14 Wing Greenwood in Nova Scotia.