Ssi-Surprise

On nov 24, 2017 around 11:30 a.m. the maritime prefecture of the Channel and the North Sea was informed of a medical evacuation operation, coordinated by the CROSS Jobourg off Cherbourg. The "Sea Neptune" enroute from Baton Rouge to Wilhelmshaven with a cargo of coal, asked for assitance at the exit of the traffic separation zone of the Casquets, 25 nautical miles north of La Hague. The captain asked for medical assistance for a 56-year-old Filipinocrew member suffering from headache and breathing difficulties. Previously, the ship had sought medical advice from the German Maritime Medical Assistance Center. The German MRCC then forwarded the coordination of the operation to the CROSS Jobourg, which was responsible for rescue operations in the area, through the CROSS Gris-Nez. Immediately, the CROSS Jobourg organized a conference call between the ship and the maritime medical consultation center in Toulouse. After a diagnosis a rapid medical evacuation was adised. The CROSS, in liaison with the SAMU inLe Havre and the Maritime Operations Center (COM) of the maritime prefecture in Cherbourg, dispatched a Cayman helicopter of the naval base in Maupertus which embarked a team of the SMUR Granville to the bulkcarrier. At the same time, the CROSS Jobourg asked the ship to divert towards Cherbourg to reduce the distance. At 1:30 p.m., the doctor of the SMUR Granville was dropped off by the Cayman aboard the "Sea Neptune". The patient was then hoisted in a stretcher aboard the helicopter and taken to the hospital of Cherbourg. Around 2 p.m. the helicopter landed at the commercial port of Cherbourg and the victim, and the patient was taken in care of the medical teams of the hospital Pasteur 10 minutes later. French report with photo: https://www.premar-manche.gouv.fr/communiques-presse/vacuation-medicale-sur-navire-sea-neptune.html