Damaged Tuna Boat Will Stay in Panama Until Copter Released

A San Diego-based tuna boat damaged in Panamanian waters evidently will remain there until U.S. military officials let the vessel’s helicopter return from a nearby airport, according to August Felando, president of the San Diego-based American Tunaboat Assn.

The Samoa Star remains docked near Panama City after being damaged when U.S. Navy commandos reportedly destroyed a nearby Panamanian patrol boat.

The boat’s helicopter is at Paitilla Airport, a small field near the Marriott Hotel in Panama City, said Felando, who talked to the crew by telephone. That area saw heavy fighting during the past week, and U.S. troops have decided to keep civilian flights to a minimum, a Department of Defense spokeswoman said Wednesday.

“I don’t have particulars about that (helicopter), but good old common sense tells me that there won’t be flights until we’re sure that no one is going to shoot them down,” the spokeswoman said.

Divers who examined the ship’s hull earlier this week determined that the boat’s sonar gear was damaged during the early-morning explosion Dec. 20, Felando said, but that the hull was seaworthy and that the 220-foot boat could return to San Diego for repairs.

A second San Diego-based tuna boat that was tied off near the Samoa Star on Dec. 20, left Panama on Sunday but remains anchored offshore, Felando said. The Odette Therese, which was not damaged in the attack, evidently is waiting for U.S. military officials to allow its helicopter to take off from Paitilla Airport, Felando said.

Crew members on the two boats escaped injury when the explosion destroyed the Panamanian patrol boat, about 1 a.m. Panama time as U.S. troops rushed to take control of Panama.

U.S.-based tuna boats regularly travel the Panama Canal from fishing grounds in the Pacific Ocean to canneries in Puerto Rico. The ships were returning from Puerto Rico when hostilities broke out.