Ready for rescue on the high seas – The Manila Times

IT was eight o'clock on a Saturday morning and the blue-gray sky hung heavy over the swelling Red Sea. Kim Johansen, a 60-year-old Dane, was already so exhausted after nine hours of battling the unforgiving waves. His sails had long been blown off by the winds and clinging to dear life was almost made impossible by his rolling boat.

Photo shows Danish Kim Johansen being lifted by the crew of MT Riviera II led by Filipino captain Joey Gregorio, after drifting in open waters. PHOTO by Capt. Joey Gregorio

The vessel nearest him took more than two hours to get to his location but was unsuccessful in plucking him off the sea. They said another ship was coming to save him. That was an hour ago.

As Johansen pondered on his dwindling options, he heard the sudden crackle of his radio and a voice. Rescue had arrived!

Aboard the chemical tanker MV Riviera II, the 39-year-old captain assessed the situation and their plan of approach. The heaving sea made it difficult for a large vessel to approach a drifting and much smaller boat.

The ship captain was a Filipino.

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"The moment I heard that the other vessel had difficulties approaching SV Heki, I immediately called our company to inform them that we would redirect the ship. We need to save the man," Capt. Joey Gregorio said.

The rescue operations proved difficult. As Johansen scrambled to get off his boat, the heaving waves submerged and slammed the rescue basket on the side of the tanker ship. Johansen was thrown around like a ragdoll until he was lifted 50 meters from the ship's deck.

Capt. Joey Gregorio and Kim Johansen whom he saved in the high seas. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

"The sailboat was rolling and yawing heavily due to high swells. It was a very difficult rescue operation," Gregorio recalled.

"I felt a little bit nervous, but I was determined to save the man. And so, I tried to remain focused and calm mainly for the sake of my crew. My only fear was that should we fail, Johansen might drift to Somalia, a pirate-infested area," he said.

After an hour, the rescue team was able to successfully rescue Johansen.

Gregorio let out a sigh of relief as Johansen was finally pulled on the deck of MV Riviera II. Exactly a year before, he was also able to rescue an Australian couple in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

Pushing through difficulties

Unbeknownst to his colleagues, Gregorio almost did not become a seafarer.

"I originally wanted to become a doctor, but I felt the urge to realize what my brother, my life's hero, has always wanted. He wanted to become a seafarer," Gregorio said.

"Later on, I realized that endurance training in a maritime school is not easy. When I was told that I could not be a good seafarer due to myopia, I almost quit. What made me pursue my course was the thought of my brother, I should finish what he started. This motivated me to remain strong," he recalled.

In 2003, Gregorio graduated with a bachelor's degree in Marine Transportation at the Zamboanga State College of Marine Sciences and Technology.

He took his first command as a ship captain at the age of 32.

"Poverty inspired me to slug it out. I grew up in a small farming town in Zamboanga, raised by farmer parents. They have sacrificed so much for our family," he said.

More than just a seafarer, Gregorio is known among his colleagues as a hero. Nonetheless, he sees himself as another ordinary man who gives and helps even when no one is looking and even with no accolades or recognition.

"I believe in genuine kindness. Helping is already a reward in itself and when you are kind, blessings just keep pouring in."

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Ready for rescue on the high seas - The Manila Times