Mumbai: Responding to an emergency, the Indian Coast Guard’s (ICG) Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre, Mumbai (MRCCM), on Thursday, evacuated a 65-year-old American from a Kenya-bound cruise ship as he required urgent medical attention.
The American national, James Douglas Shirley, was diagnosed with retinal displacement. He was brought to the shore for treatment at a city hospital, sources said. The cruise, MV World Odyssey, was 230 nautical miles off Mumbai when the MRCCM undertook the evacuation and dispatched the coast guard ship ICG C-439 with a medical team for on-spot aid. A nautical mile is equal to around 1.85km. Mr Shirley was one of 175 passengers onboard Odyssey.
A Coast Guard official said, “The patient was safely evacuated and handed over to a vessel agent for further medical management at Global Hospital.” He added that his medical condition required immediate hospitalisation for surgery.
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“The successful operation and seamless coordination of maritime search and rescue in the Indian Search and Rescue Region by ICG units and MRCCM reaffirms the Indian Coast Guard’s capabilities as nodal coordinating agency for maritime search and rescue in the Indian Ocean Region in line with its commitment to the motto ‘We Protect’,” the official said.
Over the last few months, the ICG carried out several maritime search and rescue missions. In November last year, in a swift sea-air coordinated rescue operation, the ICG had evacuated a critically-injured foreign national from the merchant vessel MV Zim Atlantic, when it was around 90km off Mumbai.
According to the ICG, the SOS call was received at MRCCM from the Liberian-flagged container vessel for the emergency medical evacuation of a 35-year-old unconscious Filipino crew with severe head injury. An ICG ship, Saksham, with a special medical team headed by a neurologist had been diverted for assistance. The ship had evacuated the patient and provided first aid. Further, considering the criticality of the injury, an ICG helicopter was launched from Mumbai and the patient was airlifted within the shortest span.
Similarly, last September, the ICG had rescued 19 people at sea, including 18 Indians and one Ethiopian Master, from Motor Tanker Parth, a Gabon-flagged vessel. According to the Coast Guard, the vessel had reported flooding around 41 miles west of Ratnagiri while on way to New Mangalore from Khor Fakkan, UAE.
