Archive · 9 Aug 2026
Pune Captain Turns Ship Around, Rescues Three Men And Dog
Captain Raj Srivastava is a sailor who lives in Pune, India.
He has worked on ships for more than thirty years.
One night in July, he got a message that some people were in trouble in the Atlantic Ocean.
Their boat had stopped working, so they were floating on the water with almost no food or water.
Three men and their dog, Kira the Pitbull, were stuck on the boat.
The waves were very big, and it took Captain Srivastava about four hours to reach them.
He tried to get close to their boat three times, but the waves pushed them apart.
On the fourth try, his crew managed to connect the boats with a special rope, and everyone was safely brought aboard.
The rescued people were so happy they called him a God and said they had lost all hope.
Later, important groups like the US Coast Guard praised him and his crew for their brave rescue.
Captain Raj Srivastava, a 58-year-old Pune-based Master Mariner commanding the MV Aruna Ismail, led the rescue in the Atlantic Ocean on July 11.
He received a distress relay from the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre about a vessel that had lost power and was drifting with no adequate food or water.
The stranded vessel carried Canadian citizen Dwayne Theriault, US citizens Johnny Angelico Auden Allen and Raul David Auden Allen, and their Pitbull dog, Kira.
After three failed approaches in rough seas with waves up to four metres, Srivastava succeeded on the fourth attempt using the Line Throwing Apparatus to bring everyone aboard.
The United States Coast Guard commended Srivastava and his crew, and India's Directorate General of Shipping recognised the rescue as an exemplary search-and-rescue operation.
- Who
- Captain Raj Srivastava, a 58-year-old Pune-based Master Mariner commanding the MV Aruna Ismail, and his crew, who rescued Dwayne Theriault, Johnny Angelico Auden Allen, Raul David Auden Allen, and their dog Kira.
- What
- A rescue of three men and their Pitbull dog from a powerless vessel drifting in the Atlantic Ocean.
- When
- July 11, when the rescue took place after the vessel had been drifting for days.
- Where
- The Atlantic Ocean, about 46 nautical miles from where the MV Aruna Ismail received the distress relay.
- Why
- The stranded vessel had lost power, leaving the three men and their dog drifting with no adequate food or water and no hope.
- Captain
- Raj Srivastava, 58, Pune-based Master Mariner
- Ship
- MV Aruna Ismail
- Rescue date
- July 11
- Location
- Atlantic Ocean, 46 nautical miles from the rescue ship
- Rescued
- 3 men (Dwayne Theriault, Johnny Angelico Auden Allen, Raul David Auden Allen) and dog Kira
- Sea conditions
- Waves up to 4 metres; vessel drifting at about 2.5 knots
- Rescue attempts
- Fourth attempt succeeded using Line Throwing Apparatus
- Recognition
- US Coast Guard commendation and Directorate General of Shipping recognition