Coast Guard Air Station Borinquen Medevacs Seafarer With Severe Infection From Container Ship

A Coast Guard Air Station Borinquen aircrew medevaced a 46-year-old mariner Saturday morning from a commercial motor vessel approximately 100 nautical miles east of St. Maarten.

The patient, who was suffering from a rapidly progressing infection, was safely hoisted aboard an MH-60T Jayhawk helicopter and transported to the Centro Médico Hospital trauma center in San Juan, Puerto Rico, for emergency specialized care.

Rescue Sub-Center San Juan watchstanders were initially notified Wednesday night when the master of the M/V Kotka, a 1,083-foot Liberian flagged container ship, reported that a crew member was suffering from a severe, non-ambulatory infection that was unresponsive to onboard medication.

At the time of the initial notification, the M/V Kotka was positioned more than 1,300 nautical miles east of the Lesser Antilles, well beyond the operational reach of land-based rescue helicopters and days away from port.

To overcome the extreme maritime distance and tight medical timeline, Coast Guard search and rescue coordinators formulated a phased operational plan that involved the M/V Kotka increasing to maximum transit speed toward a designated rendezvous position east of the Leeward Islands. Meanwhile, Coast Guard Air Station Borinquen pre-positioned an MH-60T Jayhawk helicopter crew in Sint Maarten Friday afternoon to shorten the distance for the medevac.

A Coast Guard Air Station Miami HC-144 Ocean Sentry maritime patrol aircraft also launched out of Miami to provide continuous communications relay, navigation assistance, and top-cover air escort.

At approximately 100 nautical miles east of St. Maarten, the Jayhawk aircrew arrived on scene with the M/V Kotka. A Coast Guard rescue swimmer was deployed to the vessel’s deck, and he worked with the ship’s crew to prepare and safely hoist the mariner aboard the aircraft.

Following the hoist, the helicopter crew completed the transit across the northeastern Caribbean, and they landed at the Base San Juan helipad, where awaiting trauma emergency medical service personnel received the patient and completed his transport to the Centro Medico Hospital in San Juan.

“This morning was a display of exceptional teamwork by Sector San Juan, several foreign partners, Centro Medico Hospital personnel, and Air Stations Borinquen and Miami to safely transport this mariner patient to a higher level of care,” said Lt. j.g. Haley Goodfellow, Coast Guard Air Station Borinquen MH-60T Jayhawk helicopter copilot for the case.

“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. I’m so proud to have the honor of working with the aircrews from Air Station Borinquen and Air Station Miami, as well as our Sector Command Center watchstanders. They are all true search and rescue professionals who make the success of difficult cases like this possible.”

The operation was executed with vital support from U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Field Operations (CBP-OFO), Puerto Rico Emergency Medical Services, Centro Médico personnel, and the shipping agent for the M/V Kotka.

Press Release