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GALVESTON, Texas-Twenty-two men aboard a 584-foot freighter adrift in the Gulf of Mexico faced riding out Hurricane Ike if the situation remained too dangerous for a rescue attempt, the Coast Guard said Friday.Chief Petty Officer Mike O'Berry initially said stormy seas would prevent Coast Guard aircraft or vessels from reaching the ship about 90 miles southeast of Galveston. Category 2 Ike's 105-mph winds could cause 50-foot waves, the Coast Guard said. But by mid-morning Friday, Petty Officer Tom Atkeson said the Coast Guard was looking at the range of the assets it had to safely get to the vessel to rescue the crew, if necessary."The limitations were what we had in the area at the time. Now we're looking at seeing what we can get out there, possibly in a range to assist them," Atkeson said. He did not elaborate on what aircraft the Coast Guard would need.The Coast Guard is in constant communication with the ship via Marine radio, said Atkeson, who identified the vessel as the Antalina.The freighter is registered out of Cyprus and owned by Perovo Shipping Ltd. The freighter's operator is TEO Shipping Corp., according to Atkeson.There was no indication that the ship was taking on water, Atkeson said."We don't have any information from the crew that that's the case," Atkeson told The Associated Press. "They've lost propulsion and steering" and were drifting southwest.The Coast Guard at 4:17 a.m. CDT Friday received a radio distress call from the vessel.Ike's eye was forecast to strike somewhere near Galveston late Friday, but the massive system was already buffeting Texas and Louisiana.The National Weather Service warned residents of smaller structures on Galveston they could "face certain death" if they ignored an order to evacuate; most had complied.As in the days of Noah...
