NSRI Hermanus: A medical evacuation operation at sea

NSRI Hermanus duty crew were placed on alert following calls to the NSRI Hermanus duty phone and to NSRI EOC (Emergency Operations Centre) from ships agents reporting a medical emergency onboard a container motor vessel - on the Cape South Coast, offshore of Agulhas National Park, with the vessel heading in the direction towards Walker Bay.

An EMS rescue squad was placed on alert and ER24 ambulance services activated to respond to our NSRI rescue base.

The fully laden 399.9 meter container motor vessel, at that stage offshore of Danger Point, in communications assisted by Telkom Maritime Radio Services, were requested to approach Walker Bay, offshore of Hermanus.

Our NSRI rescue craft The Legacy was launched accompanied by our NSRI MEX (Maritime Extrication) crew and by 2 ER24 rescue paramedics.

In fair sea conditions, with 2.5 meter sea swells, we rendezvoused with the motor vessel 10 nautical miles offshore of Hermanus, in Walker Bay.

In communications with the ships Master he was requested to head in a direction into the sea swells at an appropriate speed while creating a lee for our rescue craft to come alongside at midships where, using their combination pilots ladder, 2 NSRI MEX crew and an ER24 rescue paramedic were transferred onto the vessel followed by medical and extrication equipment.

The patient, in a serious condition, was stabilised by the ER24 paramedic, in cooperation with the ships medical crew, while our NSRI MEX crew established technical high angle extrication transfer equipment, assisted by the ships crew.

Communications with the ships crew and with the ships medical crew were assisted by a ships language translator onboard the vessel.

Once the patient was medically stabilised, in a technical high angle operation, secured into a Bauman bag specialised stretcher, assisted by the ships crew, the patient was transferred onto our rescue craft and he was taken into the care of the ER24 paramedic that was still onboard our rescue craft, followed by the rescue crew and the rescue equipment.

In the care of the ER24 paramedics the patient was brought to our NSRI rescue base and he was transported to hospital in a serious but stable condition by ER24 ambulance.

NSRI has commended the Master of the ship and his crew for their cooperation and their assistance during this urgent emergency technical medical evacuation operation as well as our NSRI Hermanus crew and the ER24 rescue paramedics.

The operation was completed at 04h43 on Tuesday morning.

The container motor vessel has continued on her voyage.

In communications with ER24, NSRI has learned that the patient has been transferred by ER24 ambulance to a hospital in Cape Town where he is recovering in the care of doctors and nurses with all hopes and wishes that he makes a full recovery.

NSRI EOC (Emergency Operations Centre), NSRI Hermanus duty controllers, TNPA (Transnet National Ports Authority) Port of Table Bay Port Control, TNPA Port Health, Telkom Maritime Radio Services, WC Government Health EMS Metro Control and an EMS duty doctor, the SA Police Services and Police Sea Borderline Control, the ships agents and the Master of the container motor vessel, assisted MRCC (Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre) in the logistics and coordination of this successful medical emergency evacuation operation.