Tugboat sails to
rescue dog
on drifting boat

The Humane Society will spend
$50,000 on the 5-day voyage

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By Rod Antone
rantone@starbulletin.com

Hawaiian Humane Society investigator Brett Lum says he rescued about 2,000 animals last year.

However, none of those rescues involved getting on a salvage tugboat, traveling several hundred nautical miles into international waters, then boarding the burned-out hull of an Indonesian fishing vessel that still carries the body of a dead sailor killed in the fire. None of them cost $50,000, either.

All to save the dog of the ship's captain, who says he was forced to leave his pet behind while he and the rest of the crew were rescued earlier this week by the Norwegian Star cruise ship.

"This is the weirdest," said Lum just before he got on board the American Quest tugboat yesterday.

Hawaiian Humane Society spokeswoman Eve Holt estimates that the Hawaiian Humane Society, along with some financial help from the Humane Society of the United States, is spending an estimated $50,000 to get Forgea, the 2-year-old pet of Chung Chin Po, Taiwanese captain of the ship Insiko 1907.

Po, however, is leaving Hawaii today, without the dog, whose future remains uncertain even if it is rescued. Hawaii's strict quarantine law requires imported pets to be held for up to 120 days before they can be released to their owners or adopted.

According to Holt, Po was told he could not bring the dog aboard the Norwegian Star when the cruise ship sent a rescue crew to pick the ship's survivors on Tuesday.

"He very much regretted leaving that dog behind," said Holt. Members of the public later learned of the dog's plight and responded, she said.

"People immediately started calling up, 'If you can do anything to help it, please, please call me because I will be happy to donate.'"

The crew of the Norwegian Star rescued 11 Insiko crew members after a March 13 fire killed one crew member and injured another. However, a spokesman for the cruise ship said no one knew about a dog until it was too late.

"Their priority was to get the injured crew on the ship," said Steve Hirano, who works for Pacific Management Consultants. "There were rumors later of a dog, but by then the ship was already on its way to Hawaii. ... Because of the weather and rough seas at the time, they had to consider the safety of the crew and decided not to go back."

Holt said the 40-pound white dog was left with some food and water and said she expects that the animal is still alive.

The rescue crew -- which consists of Lum, veterinary specialist Linda Haller and five members of the American Quest -- left yesterday evening and will also bring more dog food along with medical supplies and a kennel for Forgea's trip back to Oahu.

"We've boarded burning ships and sinking ships and even sunk some ships on purpose with explosives," said Rusty Nall, vice president of American Marine Services, which owns American Quest. "The weather looks good, so this should be no problem.

"I expect the dog to come running to us when we board."

Nall expects to reach the Insiko, 230 miles southwest of the Big Island, by tomorrow. He expects the entire operation to take no more than five days.

Though Nall said his crew could also take care of recovering the body of a crewman still on board and tow the remains of the ship to shore, it is not something he can do without the consent of either the owner of the Insiko or the Coast Guard.

In response, Coast Guard officials said that responsibility now falls with Indonesia, the country with which the Insiko is registered.