TWO crew members of an iconic tall ship which has featured in Hollywood blockbusters were missing last night after the vessel was abandoned amid fierce winds and high seas caused by Hurricane Sandy.
The US Coast Guard was continuing its search for the remaining crew of the HMS Bounty, having earlier rescued 14 people by helicopter from lifeboats.
The boat, built for the 1962 film Mutiny on the Bounty, got into trouble 160 miles west of the eye of the storm, sparking a major rescue operation involving three MH-60 Jayhack helicopters and a C-140 Hercules aircraft.
The vessel, which eventually sank in the high seas, was on its way from Connecticut to Florida, but ran into trouble late on Sunday 90 miles south-east of North Carolina. It had tried to navigate its way around the storm, but lost power.
It is understood the three-masted, 180ft vessel, which featured as the Edinburgh Trader in the film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, was taking on water and was without propulsion, stuck in 40mph winds and seas with 18ft waves.
Five people were rescued by helicopter at 10:30am yesterday, followed soon afterwards by nine others. All 16 crew members were wearing cold-water survival suits and life jackets, and made their way into two 25-man lifeboats with canopies, according to Coast Guard officials. The nationality of the crew members remained unclear last night.
The director of the HMS Bounty Organisation, Tracie Simonin, said of the crew: “They were staying in constant contact with the National Hurricane Centre. They were trying to make it around the storm.”