The captain of the 734-foot container ship M/V Maersk Batam was medically evacuated about 100 nautical miles from his ship south of Puerto Rico to St. Thomas Monday night after suffering a life-threatening stroke, the U.S. Coast Guard reported.
The captain of the M/V Maersk Batam, 57, is a citizen of the United Kingdom, who experienced life-threatening symptoms of a possible stroke during the ship’s transit from Santa Marta, Colombia to their next scheduled port call in Southampton, England. The victim’s name was not released by the Coast Guard.
According to the report, watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector San Juan received the medevac request at 9:55 a.m. Monday from the M/V Maersk Batam, as the ship was transiting 175 nautical miles southwest of Mona Island, Puerto Rico. The Coast Guard launched a MH-65D helicopter crew from Air Station Borinquen to conduct the medevac and diverted the Coast Guard Cutter Thetis to shorten the distance with the M/V Maersk Batam and serve as an emergency platform for the rescue helicopter if required. Watchstanders coordinated with Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Virgin Islands authorities throughout the medevac. They also inquired and received from the M/V Maersk Batam that the patient’s condition was unrelated and that he was not experiencing symptoms of COVID-19.
