Sailing Vessel "Paul Eric"; Rose Atoll, American Samoa
NOAA initial notification: “On June 16, 2009, NOAA ERD was notified of a stranded sailing yacht on Rose Atoll in American Samoa. The 35-foot aluminum vessel is believed to have approximately 40 gallons of diesel onboard, but reports are very sketchy at this time. The yacht is reported to be intact and not […]”[1]
Latest included source report
Posted 23 Jun 2009
Latest source report
“The Sailing Vessel Paul Eric has been freed from the reef at Rose Atoll and is currently en route to Samoa. TRANSMISSION: ALERT DATE AND TIME (UTC) 230530 JUNE 2009 FROM: Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand TO: HQJFNZ Watch Keeper RAN MSA CMDR Powell US Fish and Wildlife INFO: MRCC Gris-Nez JRCC Honolulu MNZ Media RCCNZ Managers […]” Current outcome is not independently verified by seahazards.[5]
NOAA report chronology
5 dated source records · 16 Jun 2009 to 23 Jun 2009NOAA incident record opened
Initial notification excerpt: “On June 16, 2009, NOAA ERD was notified of a stranded sailing yacht on Rose Atoll in American Samoa. The 35-foot aluminum vessel is believed to have approximately 40 gallons of diesel onboard, but reports are very sketchy at this time. The yacht is reported to be intact and not leaking. A private yacht is enroute to provide assistance. Rose Atoll is located approximately 130 nautical miles east-southeast of Pago Pago Harbor, American Samoa, and is the easternmost Samoan island. It is the southernmost unit of the National Wildlife Refuge System. On January 6, 2009, Rose Atoll Marine National Monument was established, which includes Rose Atoll National Wildlife Refuge within its boundaries.”
NOAA approximate incident area; not a vessel track
Initial incident area only. Dates are NOAA postings, not a vessel track. Playback advances every 5 seconds.
Milestone 1 of 5: 16 Jun 2009. NOAA incident record opened. NOAA approximate incident area; not a vessel track
NOAA incident record opened
Initial notification excerpt: “On June 16, 2009, NOAA ERD was notified of a stranded sailing yacht on Rose Atoll in American Samoa. The 35-foot aluminum vessel is believed to have approximately 40 gallons of diesel onboard, but reports are very sketchy at this time. The yacht is reported to be intact and not leaking. A private yacht is enroute to provide assistance. Rose Atoll is located approximately 130 nautical miles east-southeast of Pago Pago Harbor, American Samoa, and is the easternmost Samoan island. It is the southernmost unit of the National Wildlife Refuge System. On January 6, 2009, Rose Atoll Marine National Monument was established, which includes Rose Atoll National Wildlife Refuge within its boundaries.”
NOAA approximate incident area; not a vessel track (-14.536°, -168.151°)
Situation Update 6/17 p.m.
Source report excerpt: “From: rccnz@maritimenz.govt.nz [mailto:rccnz@maritimenz.govt.nz] Sent: Wednesday, June 17, 2009 10:24 AM To: Anthony; CMDR Tony Powell; HQJFNZ WK; don_palawski@fws.gov; Luna, Troy LT Cc: CROSS Gris-Nez; JRCCHonolulu; Media; Nigel Clifford; John Seward; Rodney Bracefield; Crecy, Stacey LT Subject: RCC0417/09 SY PAUL ERIC SAR SITREP 04 TRANSMISSION: ALERT DATE AND TIME (UTC) 172025 JUNE 2009 FROM: Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand TO: HQJFNZ Watch Keeper RAN MSA CMDR Powell US Fish and Wildlife INFO: MRCC Gris-Nez JRCC Honolulu MNZ Media RCCNZ Managers ------------------------------------------------------------------------- SAR SITREP (NUMBER) Four (A) IDENTITY OF CASUALTY: SY PAUL ERIC […]”
Update 6/18
Source report excerpt: “Information relayed from USCG and Maritime NZ The Sailing Yacht "PAUL ERIC" remains hard aground on Rose Atoll. A passing yacht, the SPIRIT OF ULYSSES, arrived on-scene yesterday but could not get within 1/2 mile of the grounded vessel and has departed for Apia. The owner of the PAUL ERIC remains on his vessel.”
Situation Update
Source report excerpt: “The M/V Sili departed Pago Pago Harbor on 20 June at 7:00am Samoa time enroute to Rose Atoll with intermediate stops at the Manua Islands to disembark 30 passengers and cargo. Moon Divers, Inc. crew and salvage equipment are on-board along with FWS National Wildlife Refuge representative, Jim Maragos, to assess the situation at Rose Atoll upon arrival, render appropriate aid, and extract the SY Paul Eric from the reef.”
Situation Update and Final Report
Source report excerpt: “The Sailing Vessel Paul Eric has been freed from the reef at Rose Atoll and is currently en route to Samoa. TRANSMISSION: ALERT DATE AND TIME (UTC) 230530 JUNE 2009 FROM: Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand TO: HQJFNZ Watch Keeper RAN MSA CMDR Powell US Fish and Wildlife INFO: MRCC Gris-Nez JRCC Honolulu MNZ Media RCCNZ Managers ------------------------------------------------------------------------- SAR SITREP (NUMBER) SEVEN and FINAL (A) IDENTITY OF CASUALTY: SY PAUL ERIC (B) POSITION: 14 32.133S 168 09.060W (C) SITUATION: SY PAUL ERIC has been assisted by the MV SILI and is now free from its grounding on Rose Atoll. Mr Clerc is in good spirits and is now making 3.5 kts making for […]”
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Details in the record
- Source record
- NOAA IncidentNews 8033[1]
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Automatically assembled from NOAA's incident record and substantive Public Affairs or Situation Update posts. Dates are NOAA posting dates, which can differ from when events happened or original reports were published. Excerpts retain the source's wording and uncertainty. This account does not independently establish the cause, current outcome or safety of the area. NOAA coverage is selective; missing updates do not mean nothing happened. The map shows one approximate incident area, not a vessel track.
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Original sources
Timeline updated 21 Sept 2026. New reports and changes to this NOAA incident are incorporated automatically; this is not a live incident feed.
- 1.Sailing Vessel "Paul Eric"; Rose Atoll, American Samoa ↗NOAA Office of Response and Restoration · 16 Jun 2009
- 2.Situation Update 6/17 p.m. ↗NOAA IncidentNews · source report archive · 18 Jun 2009
- 3.Update 6/18 ↗NOAA IncidentNews · source report archive · 18 Jun 2009
- 4.Situation Update ↗NOAA IncidentNews · source report archive · 21 Jun 2009
- 5.Situation Update and Final Report ↗NOAA IncidentNews · source report archive · 23 Jun 2009
Related records in our archive
Original source text, preserved separately from this account.
NOAAORR-8033 NOAA response record
Sailing Vessel "Paul Eric"; Rose Atoll, American Samoa. Rose Atoll, American Samoa. 1. On June 16, 2009, NOAA ERD was notified of a stranded sailing yacht on Rose Atoll in American Samoa. The 35-foot aluminum vessel is believed to have approximately 40 gallons of diesel onboard, but reports are very sketchy at this time. The yacht is reported to be intact and not leaking. A private yacht is enroute to provide assistance. Rose Atoll is located approximately 130 nautical miles east-southeast of Pago Pago Harbor, American Samoa, and is the easternmost Samoan island. It is the southernmost unit of the National Wildlife Refuge System. On January 6, 2009, Rose Atoll Marine National Monument was established, which includes Rose Atoll National Wildlife Refuge within its boundaries. 2. THREAT: OIL. COMMODITY: DIESEL. MAXIMUM POTENTIAL RELEASE: 41 GALLONS. TAGS: GROUNDING. 3. POSITION 14.536S 168.151W. NOAA INCIDENTNEWS 8033: https://incidentnews.noaa.gov/incident/8033Open record and warning history →
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