In 2 separate incidents – 4 local fishermen were assisted on Saturday after their boat suffered motor mechanical failure and a seafarer with a medical condition has been transported to hospital following a medical evacuation at sea on Friday:
Benic van der Merwe, NSRI Durban duty coxswain , said:
On Saturday, 9 August, during routine training exercises that included NSRI Durban station 5, the SA Navy (SANS), the SA Air Force (SAAF), TNPA (Transnet National Ports Authority), the SA Police Services and Telkom Maritime Radio Services, resources involved in the exercise – SAAF 15 Squadron airborne resources, SANS sea resources, Police and NSRI Durban sea rescue resources, assisted Police divers in their ongoing search at Wedge Beach where a teenager remains missing.
Then at 12h00 the NSRI rescue craft Spirit of Surfski 6 diverted from the exercise to assist a fishing boat, with 4 local fishermen onboard, reporting to be adrift in the Port of Durban after their vessel suffered motor mechanical failure.
Our NSRI rescue craft rendezvoused with the fishing vessel finding the casualty crew safe, in good spirits, and their vessel was no longer drifting after they had managed to deploy their anchor.
They raised their anchor and our NSRI rescue craft was rafted alongside their casualty fishing vessel and we brought them safely to the slipway (where they had launched from earlier in the day) without incident and assisted them to recover their craft.
Once their casualty craft was safely recovered they required no further assistance.
Lorenzo Taverna-Turisan, NSRI Durban duty coxswain, said:
On Friday, 8 August, at 14h29, NSRI Durban duty crew, accompanied by NSRI Durban MEX (Maritime Extrication) crew and Red Line Response rescue paramedics, launched the NSRI Durban rescue craft Alick Rennie on a medical evacuation operation.
NSRI Durban and Red Line Response ambulance services had been placed on alert on Thursday night, 7 August, by MRCC (Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre), to prepare for the medical evacuation operation of a 33 year old Filipino male seafarer from a bulk carrier motor vessel that was heading towards Durban.
The NSRI rescue craft Alick Rennie rendezvoused with the motor vessel at Fairway marker buoy, 6 nautical miles offshore of Durban, in calm seas.
2 NSRI MEX crew and the Red Line rescue paramedic were transferred onboard the vessel and they medically evaluated the patient who was in a stable condition with a medical condition.
Secured into a safety line the patient was transferred onto our NSRI rescue craft and in the care of the Red Line paramedic he was brought safely to our NSRI Durban station 5 rescue base and transported to hospital by Red Line ambulance in a stable condition for further medical care.
NSRI EOC (Emergency Operations Centre), NSRI Durban duty controllers, WC Government Health EMS, Red Line ambulance services, TNPA (Transnet National Ports Authority) Port of Durban Port Control, the Port Health Authority, Police Sea Bordeline Control and Telkom Maritime Radio Services, assisted MRCC in the logistics and coordination of the medical evacuation operation.
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