U.S. Forces Respond to Gunfire Aboard S/V Quest

TAMPA, Fla. (NNS) — At approximately 1 a.m. EST today, while negotiations were ongoing to secure the release of four American hostages, U.S. forces responded to gunfire aboard the pirated vessel (S/V) Quest.

As they responded to the gunfire, reaching and boarding the Quest, the forces discovered all four hostages had been shot by their captors. Despite immediate steps to provide life-saving care, all four hostages ultimately died of their wounds.

“We express our deepest condolences for the innocent lives callously lost aboard the Quest,” said Gen James N. Mattis, U.S. Central Command Commander.

Military Sealift Command completes annual resupply mission to Antarctica

Military Sealift Command-chartered container ship MV BBC Ems departed McMurdo Station, Antarctica, Feb. 13 after delivering more than 84,000 square feet of vital supplies in support of Operation Deep Freeze. ODF is an annual U.S. Air Force-led mission to resupply the remote scientific outpost.

BBC Ems followed MSC tanker USNS Richard G. Matthiesen, which delivered more than 5.5 million gallons of crucial diesel, gasoline and jet fuel to McMurdo Station Jan. 29 to Feb. 5.

MSC ships deliver 100 percent of the fuel and about 80 percent of the supplies that the researchers and support personnel who live and work across Antarctica – up to 1,100 in the summer months – need to survive and work over the course of a year.