Rescue Helicopters News

A Singapore-registered containership that lost power and steering in heavy seas off the west coast of New Zealand has been towed to safety.The 5,100 TEU capacity Shiling requested assistance from Maritime New Zealand at around 8:30 a.m. local time Friday, after losing main propulsion while en route from Auckland to Wellington.The 294-meter-long containership started rolling severely after drifting into heavy swells about 22 nautical miles northwest of Farewell Spit and issued a mayday call at 11 a.m.

Zelim, a company previously known as Offshore Survival Systems, has teamed up with naval architect Chartwell Marine to deliver a remotely operated rescue vessel designed to be mounted on offshore facilities."Offshore energy sites present a hazardous environment for personnel and vessel crews, where there is always a risk of man overboard (MOB) incidents. However, traditional approaches to search and recovery are unsuitable for many offshore facilities. In an environment where every second counts…

The U.S. Navy called off its search for a sailor missing from aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) after the crewmember reportedly fell overboard off the coast of Southern California.Search and rescue efforts ended at sunset Saturday after Theodore Roosevelt, USS Bunker Hill (CG 52), USS Russell (DDG 59), USS Howard (DDG 83), USS Charleston (LCS 18), USS Portland (LPD 27) the U.S. Coast Guard and both fixed and rotary wing air assets searched more than 607 square nautical miles for more than 55 hours…

A crewmember suffering from abdominal pain was medevaced from the 653-feet bulk carrier ship Yasa Jupiter Saturday, approximately 60 nautical miles northeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Coast Guard said.The Coast Guard said its watchstanders at Sector San Juan received the medevac request from the Marshall Islands flagged ship on Friday night.The Yasa Jupiter was sailing from Morocco to Panama, approximately 360 nautical miles northeast of Puerto Rico, outside the range of responding rescue helicopters…

Britain's oil and gas sector association OGUK on Thursday banned people from traveling to offshore installations such as platforms if they have traveled to certain countries affected by the coronavirus in the previous 14 days.The ban comes after Equinor reported the oil industry's first coronavirus infection on an offshore installation on Wednesday, highlighting the challenge in preventing contamination for thousands of workers living in the close quarters on rigs and platforms."Industry…

A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter crew medevaced an injured Chinese crewmember from a bulk carrier Tuesday night in the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 175 nautical miles northeast of Puerto Rico. Coast Guard watchstanders in San Juan received the medevac request at 5 p.m., Monday from the Panamanian-flagged Bunun Hero for a crewmember who sustained multiple broken bones and a head injury after falling from a crane onboard the ship.The 587-foot Bunun Hero was en route to Europe and approximately 525 nautical miles northeast of Puerto Rico…

The body of the missing crew member was located by the Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) Dauphin helicopter at 12.30 pm AWST yesterday, and recovered by Fremantle Water Police. AMSA detected a distress beacon at 11.45 pm AWST last night (23 February 2018) which was registered to the 15 metre yacht Finistere with six people on board. The yacht’s crew were participating in the Bunbury and Return Ocean Race. Attempts to contact the yacht directly via radio were unsuccessful and the yacht’s tracker failed to update at 12 am AWST. AMSA advised the Fremantle Water Police of the incident and tasked the DFES RAC Rescue helicopter 652. The helicopter arrived on scene at 12.30 am AWST and sighted an overturned yacht in the water.

A yacht with no one on board has been discovered in the ocean in Port Stephens in the Hunter, prompting fears a person may have fallen overboard, as per a report in SMH. The eight-metre yacht was spotted on Tuesday night drifting off Samurai Beach in the Hunter region, 205 kilometers north of Sydney. Police on Wednesday launched a large-scale search for a 48-year-old man from Tasmania who was believed to have been living on the yacht, named FireFly. Just after 6pm, police announced the search will be suspended until 8am on Thursday, but 'due to the conditions of the water, it is unlikely the man was able to survive'. Stephen Leahy, CEO at Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopters, said it appears the man was living on the yacht and "there is a suggestion that he may have fallen overboard".

A fishing vessel sank off the Western Isles, Scotland, in the early hours of April 9. Four crew members were on board at the time of the incident. One was located and taken to hospital by helicopter, two have been found but are confirmed deceased, and one fisherman remains missing. The U.K. Coastguard received a distress alert just before 3:45 when the fishing vessels emergency positioning beacon (EPIRB) was activated near Mingulay. The search involving the Coastguard search and rescue helicopters based at Stornoway and Prestwick, the Barra RNLI lifeboat, local fishing vessels and Police Scotland has been scaled back. Mark Rodaway, National Maritime Operations Commander, for U.K.

Statoil and COSL have confirmed report from the police sources that one person has died as a result of the breaking wave that hit the drilling rig COSL Innovator today. Two other people were injured and are receiving medical treatment ashore. The rig is now heading to shore under its own power, while evacuation takes place. COSL and Statoil were notified at 5 pm on Wednesday 30 December that three people had been injured when a breaking wave hit COSL Innovator. Statoil and COSL have mobilized their emergency response organizations. COSL Innovator is under contract to Statoil at the Troll field in the North Sea, west of Bergen. The rig had been taken off the well as a result of the bad weather before the incident occurred.

Press release - Dover and London Coastguard Operations Centers (CGOC) have become part of the new Coastguard national network. Work has been carried out at both search and rescue coordination centers to upgrade the technology and introduce new systems. This means Dover and London CGOC will be connected to the National Maritime Operations Center (NMOC) in Hampshire and other Coastguard stations around the country, which will be able to offer mutual support and share work during busy periods.

The Antigua-Barbuda-flagged EMS Majestic began to sink with seven crew on board in the English Channel when it was being towed to safety. The UK Coastguard received a Mayday call at 7.09pm on Sunday from a cargo vessel which was taking in water in the Dover Strait. EMS Majestic reported that they had seven crew on board and were taking on water and sinking 13 miles south east of Eastbourne. A number of vessels transiting the area responded to Mayday Relay broadcast to provide assistance as required. Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) rescue helicopters based at both Lee on Solent and Lydd have been sent to the scene along with Eastbourne RNLI lifeboat. EMS MAJESTIC received assistance from the tug, THOR FRIGG and is currently under tow to Southampton.

Military assets deployed in support of Falkland Island government in cruise ship rescue. In support of the Falkland Island Government, British forces based in the Falkland Islands yesterday responded to a distress call by the 10,000 tonne cruise ship ‘Le Boreal’. The ship reported suffering a major engine room fire, which caused the loss of all power and left the ship drifting. A north-westerly gale placed the ship in real danger of grounding on Cape Dolphin, East Falkland. The master ordered the ship, with 347 passengers and crew, to be abandoned early yesterday morning. Working closely with the Falkland Islands Government, British Forces enacted a major search and rescue plan.

Five fishermen men were rescued from a life raft overnight after their fishing vessel Kairos sank 75 miles west of the Isles of Scilly. UK Coastguard received two distress calls just after 23:45 yesterday, including an EPRIB from the Kairos that gave a GPS location for the vessel. Falmouth Coastguard coordinated the search that involved two Irish Coast Guard Search and Rescue helicopters, RNLI St Mary’s lifeboat, fishing vessels and two commercial vessels that were in the area. The five crew were recovered from the life raft to the vessel Cu Na Mara and are currently making their way to Castletownbere in Ireland. All crew are said to be safe and well.

Canadian officials said on Friday a C$26.2 billion ($21.5 billion) program to build 15 naval ships could end up below target and over budget, the latest challenge to Canada's troubled military procurement process. In 2010, the Conservative government announced the program to replace three destroyers and 12 frigates with 15 modern warships. But officials told a briefing that the plan was now to build "up to 15 vessels" and the exact number would not be known for another few years. Construction is set to start early in the next decade and end in 2040. "Do we think that the C$26.2 billion is going to become the sort of ceiling cost in the time frame we're talking about? Perhaps not," one official said, on condition of anonymity.

As offshore field developments in the North and Norwegian Seas face maturity, operators on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) are looking to the more remote areas of the Barents Sea for further development. Here harsher environmental conditions, prolonged periods of darkness and long distances to shore make evacuation and rescue of personnel on Arctic offshore installations more challenging. A new DNV GL report examines the feasibility of emergency preparedness solutions and calls for the industry to collaborate on new response concepts.

USS Sampson (DDG 102) is supporting the ongoing Indonesian-led search and recovery operations for the downed AirAsia flight QZ8501 and assisted in locating the crash debris field yesterday. At the request of the Indonesian government, Sampson arrived on station in the Java Sea in the early afternoon on Dec. 30 and began assisting in the search. The ship's MH-60R search and rescue helicopters were launched to assist in the search efforts and the crews, working with multiple Indonesian assets, discovered debris late on the 30th. The ship and her helicopters are still on station and continuing to search in close coordination with Indonesian authorities. "Sampson will remain on station as long as the Indonesian government feels they are providing useful assistance," said Capt.

Passengers aboard a car ferry that caught fire off the coast of Greece early on Sunday pleaded for help as rescue vessels struggled to approach the burning vessel in high winds and rough seas. The Norman Atlantic, carrying almost 500 passengers and crew and more than 200 vehicles, was 44 nautical miles northwest of the island of Corfu when it sent a distress signal after a fire started in the lower deck, Greek coast guard officials said. close. "We are burning and sinking, no one can save us," Nikos Papatheodosiou told Greek TV by telephone. "Please help us! Don't leave us," he said before hanging up. Cold winter temperatures would make survival in the sea difficult unless rescue came quickly.

Twenty-two migrants drowned and at least 10 were missing after their vessels capsized off the Greek island of Samos early on Monday in seas where hundreds have died attempting the perilous crossing this year alone, the Greek coast guard said. Thousands of migrants from Africa and the Middle East pack into often unsafe boats to get into the European Union through Greece, Italy, Malta and other coastal states. The numbers have increased since "Arab Spring" uprisings triggered unrest across North Africa and civil war in Syria. Two boats, a yacht and a life boat, carrying about 68 migrants, capsized about four nautical miles off Samos in the eastern Aegean Sea, close to the Turkish coast.

The U.S. Coast Guard transported two injured hikers from a remote part of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, to Victoria at the south end of the island, Saturday. A Port Angeles-based MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew safely hoisted the two men, both were reportedly suffering from broken ankles and one with additional head trauma, and transported them to the Canadian coast guard base in Victoria where they were successfully delivered to awaiting EMS personnel. Watchstanders at the Coast Guard 13th District Command Center in Seattle received a request from personnel at the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Victoria, at 7:30 p.m., requesting the assistance of a helicopter crew to transport the injured men…

Falmouth Coastguard Operations Center (CGOC) will become part of the new Coastguard national network for the first time this week. Work has been carried out at the search and rescue coordination center at Pendennis Point, upgrading the technology and introducing new systems. This means Falmouth CGOC will be connected to the National Maritime Operations Center (NMOC) in Hampshire and other Coastguard stations around the country, which will be able to offer mutual support during busy periods. From Saturday, November 1, 2014, Falmouth CGOC and the new national network will start to take on operations from Brixham Coastguard. The changes to Her Majesty’s Coastguard will see the NMOC and 10 other CGOCs around the U.K. work together to manage the workload.

More than 50 people remain missing a day after a South Korean fishing vessel sank in the Bering Sea off the coast of Russia's far eastern Chukotka region as severe weather conditions hampered a rescue operation, officials said on Tuesday. Eight people - a Russian official, a South Korean crew member, three Filipinos and three Indonesians - have been pulled from the water although the South Korean died of hypothermia, officials in Seoul said. U.S. rescue helicopters joined the search operation for several hours on Tuesday but failed to make headway, South Korean Prime Minister Chung Hong-won told a meeting of government officials. The South Korean government and Sajo Industries…

Canadian, U.S. Coast Guards and Foss Maritime coordinate a textbook response operation. Robust response trumps the need for later salvage. In the early hours of Friday, October 17, the crew of the Russian cargo ship Simushir attempted to repair a broken oil heater. On its way to Pevek in the Russian Far East, the vessel suddenly lost propulsion and began drifting toward the nearest land, which in this case was the archipeligo Haida Gwaii. Just off the coast of northern British Columbia…