Panamanian carrier safe off St. John's, after issuing distress call

A bulk carrier that was stranded 250 nautical miles southeast of St. John's is safe after battling power outages and floodingThursday afternoon.

Maj.Amber Bineau, public affairs officerwith the Department of National Defence, said the Centennial Harmonyput out a distress call due to taking on water, but gained control of the flooding by the evening hours.

A Hercules aircraft and the SirWilfredGrenfell coast guard vesselweredispatched to help the ship. A short time later, the Centennial Harmonycalled down the request for help.

The crew had been dealing with 20-metre swellsat the peak of the storm.

Bineau confirmed all 21 crew members remained on board the ship throughout the ordeal.

She said theJoint Rescue Coordination Centre is not aware of any injuries.

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