[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 20 (Tuesday, February 1, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E83-E84]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             HONORING THE CREW OF THE ``HORIZON RELIANCE''

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. KAIALI`I KAHELE

                               of hawaii

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 1, 2022

  Mr. KAHELE. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the men and women of 
the crew of the U.S. Flag commercial ship Horizon Reliance, sailing out 
of Honolulu and operated by third-generation, family-owned Pasha 
Hawaii.
  On the evening of November 6, 2020--over 1,000 miles northeast of 
O`ahu--a private turbo-prop plane with two individuals onboard was 
enroute from California to Honolulu before suffering an engine 
casualty. As a pilot myself--with thousands of hours logged in both 
military and commercial passenger aircraft--believe me when I say that 
this is the worst possible scenario in aviation: to be in the middle of 
the ocean, 1,000 miles from the closest land, in the middle of the 
night when your one and only engine fails.
  As water rapidly filled the cabin, the two pilots managed to escape 
the aircraft, clambering into their life raft and called the Honolulu 
Coast Guard Search and Rescue center via satellite phone.
  With 8-10 foot seas and 30 knot winds on-scene, the Coast Guard 
realized the gravity of the situation and quickly dispatched a mayday 
alert calling out for volunteer commercial ships to lend aid, as the 
distance from shore prevented a search-and-rescue helicopter operation.
  Due to the hazardous conditions, the first ship to arrive on scene 
was unable to rescue the desperately heaving life raft, but was able to 
remain on scene rendering a glimmer of hope for the crash survivors. 
Shortly thereafter, the Horizon Reliance, under the command of Captain 
Mark Tuck, arrived and expertly commenced a small-boat operation to 
retrieve the survivors. Cautiously maneuvering the vessel under arduous 
conditions, the men and women of the Horizon Reliance--union members of 
the Masters, Mates and Pilots, Marine Engineers' Beneficial 
Association, and Seafarers International Unions--recovered the pilots 
aboard the vessel and brought them to safety.
  I cannot overstate how truly close this incident came to tragedy; the 
lives of these two aircraft crash survivors, their families and friends 
were forever changed due to the actions of the crew of the Horizon 
Reliance that fateful evening. It speaks even more to the dedication 
and devotion to duty of the mariners of the U.S. merchant fleet--the 
brave

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men and women who carry goods across the globe in support of the U.S. 
military, as well as humanitarian food-aid, research cargo to 
Antarctica and countless other missions in support of our country.

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