Coast Guard Medevacs One From Bulk Carrier Ship

The crew of the 549-foot Liberian-flagged bulk carrier, Turquoise Ocean, prepares to lower a crewman patient to a Coast Guard 45-foot Response Boat during a medevac 10 nautical miles north of San Juan, Puerto Rico, April 8, 2013. (U.S. Coast Guard photo)

The crew of a Coast Guard Sector San Juan 45-foot response boat receives a patient crewman from the 549-foot Liberian-flagged bulk carrier, Turquoise Ocean, during a medevac 10 nautical miles north of San Juan, Puerto Rico, April 8, 2013. (U.S. Coast Guard photo)

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A Coast Guard boat crew medevaced a crewman aboard a bulk carrier ship, approximately 10 miles north of San Juan Monday.

Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector San Juan received a report at 4:20 a.m. Monday that a Filipino crewman aboard the 549-foot Liberian-flagged bulk carrier was experiencing symptoms of a heart attack.

Sector San Juan Watchstanders alerted Coast Guard Boat Station San Juan personnel, who got underway aboard a Coast Guard 45-foot Response Boat Medium to rendezvous with the Turquoise Ocean and conduct the medevac.

The crew of the Turquoise Ocean was able to stabilize the patient on a litter and use the ship’s crane to lower him to the Coast Guard response boat.  The Coast Guard boat crew transported the patient to Sector San Juan, where Emergency Medical Service personnel received him and transported him to the Medical Center Hospital for further medical care.

“The close coordination and swift response between the bulk carrier, the Coast Guard boat crew and local Emergency Medical Services personnel allowed the patient to receive immediate medical attention ashore,” said Chief Petty Officer Daniel Capestany, Sector San Juan command duty officer.