A San Diego-based ship was in the right place at the right time to make a lifesaving rescue.
The rescue happened around 7:25 a.m. local time Saturday in the Singapore Strait.
Guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance received a distress call from a Malaysian motor boat that a man had fallen overboard, according to the Navy.
A team of Spruance sailors boarded the rigid-hull inflatable boat (RHIB.) They quickly found the Filipino mariner and pulled him to safety.
"The boat crew did an excellent job reacting to a stressful situation," said LTJG Katherine Miyamasu, the ship’s boat officer, in a Navy news release.
USS Spruance is currently deployed to the Seventh Fleet, which encompasses Asia. This is the Spruance’s first deployment. The newly commissioned ship arrived at Naval Base San Diego in October 2011.
USS Spruance is named in honor of Adm. Raymond Spruance who commanded Carrier Task Force 16 during the Battle of Midway in World War II.
