The Amver participating reefer Dole Africa rescued a 41 year old woman suffering abdominal pains from a 31 foot sailboat in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean on Saturday, May 25, 2013.U.S. Coast Guard rescue personnel in Boston received a call from French rescue authorities in Griz Nez about the ill sailor aboard the sailboat Oanaz. The Coast Guard immediately queried the Amver system and diverted the Bahamian flagged ship to assist.
The sailboat was more than 1,000 miles off the coast of Nantucket, Mass. Despite the remote location, the Amver system was able to locate the Dole Africa and divert the ship to assist. "We'll have the victim on our ship in 30 minutes," Dole Africa Captain Lukomski reported to rescue authorities when he was asked to assist.
Within 40 minutes of being alerted to the emergency, the 492 foot ship was lowering a rescue boat to embark the ill sailor. A half an hour later the sailor was safely aboard the Dole Africa and the crew was assessing her medical condition.
"The patient was complaining of abdominal pains and had decreased vital signs," reported Captain Lukomski to Coast Guard medical personnel in Portsmouth, Va. Based on the medical complaints of the patient, a Coast Guard flight surgeon suggested the crew monitor the patient for a possible ruptured appendix. The Dole Africa continued on its voyage to Puerto, Rico.
The patient's condition improved and she was walking around the ship until she was transferred to medical personnel when the Dole Africa arrived in Puerto, Rico.
The Dole Africa, managed by Reefership Marine Services of San Jose, Costa Rica, enrolled in the Amver system on January 1, 1995 and has earned 10 Amver participation awards.
Photo credit: marinetraffic.com
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