A Carnival cruise ship assisted the U.S. Coast Guard in rescuing three people aboard a sinking boat on Sunday.

The Coast Guard’s New Orleans station received an emergency position-indicating radio beacon — or EPIRB — alert shortly before 7:30 a.m. Sunday from a 44-foot recreational boat, the Snail Mail, the authorities said.

The Coast Guard contacted the owner of the Snail Mail, who was not on board the boat, but had been in contact with the three people who were and had confirmed the boat was taking on water.

A Coast Guard Ocean Sentry aircrew was dispatched to the scene and located the Snail Mail some 386 miles off the Alabama coast. Through the use of the automated mutual-assistance vessel rescue system (AMVER), the Coast Guard had already located Valor, a Carnival cruise ship, in the area and directed the 952-foot, $500 million ship to the Snail Mail’s position.

The Valor arrived on the scene, launched a rescue boat and transferred the three stranded boaters back to the cruise ship, where they were evaluated by the ship’s doctors. They were found to be in stable position, according to the USCG.

“Special thanks to the crew of the Carnival Valor for rescuing all three people aboard the sinking vessel,” said Lt. (j.g.) Gretchen Gochnour, a command duty officer at the District Eight Command Center. “The Coast Guard urges the boating public to emulate the Snail Mail by having an EPIRB and geolocating devices onboard before taking to the sea.

“Moreover, the Coast Guard encourages commercial mariners to participate in AMVER and self-report their location, as this played a pivotal role in this rescue.”