On the night of January 21, 2026, the crew of the Liberian-flagged tanker Horten, in coordination with watchstanders at U.S. Coast Guard Sector San Juan, rescued 47-year-old Belgian rower Benoit Bourguet after his single-man rowing boat, City of Liverpool, capsized in heavy weather more than 1,100 nautical miles east of Puerto Rico.
Bourguet was taking part in the World’s Toughest Row, a roughly 3,000-mile transatlantic race, when two large waves hit his vessel in 13–15-foot seas, forcing him to abandon the boat and deploy a life raft.
The response began around 2:00 a.m., after the Coast Guard received an unregistered 406 MHz EPIRB alert, followed soon after by a second signal from Bourguet’s personal locator beacon. With direct contact attempts unsuccessful, Coast Guard personnel activated AMVER to identify nearby commercial vessels capable of diverting to the distress position.
The 1,092-foot tanker Horten diverted over 100 miles and steamed for more than 12 hours to reach the area. Using updated beacon positions, the crew located Bourguet’s life raft in rough conditions and recovered him safely. He was reported dehydrated but otherwise in good health after roughly 24 hours adrift.
Officials highlighted that properly registered distress beacons can significantly speed up rescue coordination, and the incident again demonstrated the value of AMVER in rapidly linking a distress alert to the best-positioned merchant vessel. Arrangements to transfer Bourguet ashore were to be coordinated by the ship and race organizers.
