PORT ELIZABETH: At 16h40 on Friday the 8th August, NSRI Port Elizabeth volunteer sea rescue duty crew launched our sea rescue craft EIKOS RESCUER IV to rendezvous with the 294 meter bulk carrier SERNANDINO, sailing from Singapore to a holding anchor off Cape Agulhas and requiring medical assistance for a 55 year old Romanian sailor onboard suffering discomfort with ‘something in his eye’. We suspect he had scratched the film of his pupil and it was causing him discomfort and attempts to alleviate the condition had not been successful and he required evacuation to hospital.NSRI Port Elizabeth had first been alerted on Wednesday evening that the vessel would sail towards Port Elizabeth from deep sea and on Friday afternoon they arrived in Port Elizabeth waters and we responded to casualty evacuate the sailor.On arrival on-scene, 4.8 nautical miles East of Cape Recife, the sailor was transferred onto our sea rescue craft and brought to Port where the ships agent transported the sailor to hospital for further treatment.
CAPE TOWN:At 19h53 on Saturday the 9th August, NSRI Bakoven and NSRI Table Bay launched sea rescue craft to conduct a search off-shore between Bantry Bay and Robben Island after an eye-witness reported seeing a red distress flare in Table Bay, West of Robben Island.Despite an extensive search in thick fog conditions, and which included ships at anchor in the Bay keeping a lookout, no further flare sightings and no vessel or persons in distress could be found and the origin of the flare remains unknown.The search operation was suspended at 22h10 and by Sunday midday, 10th August, there remained no report of any vessel or persons overdue.
ST FRANCIS BAY:At 11h35 on Sunday the 10th of August, NSRI St Francis Bay launched our sea rescue craft SPIRIT OF ST FRANCIS II to rendezvous with the Cape town Chokka fishing boat ELBE to patient evacuate a fisherman suffering suspected dehydration and a possible medical kidney ailment.On arrival on-scene, 4 nautical miles off-shore of Port St Francis, the patient, aged in his late 30’s, was transferred onto our sea rescue craft and brought into the harbour at St Francis Bay where Private Care Ambulance Service has transported the patient to hospital in a stable condition for further treatment.
