U.S. Coast Guard Sets Up Long-Range Medevac for Critically-Ill Seafarer

Over the weekend, the U.S. Coast Guard arranged a long-range rescue for a boxship crewmember who was suffering from a serious, growing infection. 

Last week, the 1996-built boxship Kotka (ex names Maersk Kotka, Knud Maersk) was under way on a long voyage from Colombo, Sri Lanka, bound for New York. On Wednesday night, the master of the Kotka contacted shoreside authorities and reported that a crewmember had developed a "severe, non-ambulatory infection" that was not getting better with onboard medical treatment. 

At the time, the ship was in the middle of the Atlantic, roughly equidistant between the Windward Islands and Senegal, about 1,300 nautical miles from shore – well beyond the range of existing U.S. medevac assets. The Coast Guard's San Juan station took responsibility for the case and instructed the master to divert towards St. Maarten to close the distance. 

The Kotka changed course and headed due west, making 17 knots. On Friday, as the ship got closer, Air Station Borinquen dispatched a Jayhawk helicopter to St. Maarten in preparation for a medevac flight, and Air Station Miami sent an HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft to provide a communications relay. 

On Saturday, the helicopter aircrew rendezvoused with Kotka at a position about 100 nautical miles to the east of St. Maarten. The vessel's crew helped bring the patient out on deck, using a wheeled office chair to move him to a clear area, and loaded him into a basket for hoisting. The aircrew winched him safely aboard and flew him to San Juan for transfer to the hospital for specialized higher care. 

“Our team was at its best throughout the complex execution of this multi-day rescue,” said Capt. Robert E. Stiles, Coast Guard search and rescue mission coordinator for the case. “We commend our aircrew for getting the aircraft on scene to rescue a ship’s crew member and get him to a shoreside medical facility for the higher level of care he required. We are hopeful he will make a full recovery."

The vessel has resumed her commercial voyage towards New York, tracking data shows.