Coast guard rescues fishing crew member after ‘health incident’ at sea
Baffin Fisheries CEO says employee is ‘doing well’; praises coast guard for rescue
First responders in Pont Inlet wait for the arrival of a fishing crew member who experienced a medical incident at sea Tuesday. The crew member is doing well after being transferred from the Baffin Fisheries’ Sivulliq trawler to the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Terry Fox, which can be seen on the horizon of this photo. (Photo courtesy of Seth Tutty/Facebook)
A crew member of a Baffin Fisheries ship is recovering after a suspected heart incident at sea prompted a rescue by the Canadian Coast Guard.
The rescue occurred Tuesday while the fishing company’s trawler Sivulliq was in the Baffin Sea, according to Jeremy Hennessy, a Department of Fisheries and Oceans spokesperson.
The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Trenton, Ont., was alerted of the incident and mobilized the Canadian Coast Guard to respond.
“[Canadian Coast Guard Ship] Terry Fox was tasked by JRCC Trenton to respond, and evacuated the crew member from the vessel and transported them to Pond Inlet, Nunavut, where they were transferred to local emergency medical services,” Hennessy said in an email.
“Local Coast Guard Auxiliary in Pond Inlet assisted with the transfer of the injured crew member to EMS.”
It’s not clear what the medical incident was, but Baffin Fisheries CEO Chris Flanagan described it as a “suspected heart incident” but added that it was not confirmed.
The crew member is “doing well,” he said.
The Terry Fox has a “more substantial medical set-up” than the Sivulliq, Flanagan said, so offloading the crew member to the Coast Guard was the main priority.
“When the incident occurred, [the] captain and crew onboard Sivulliq immediately contacted our medical support service and received instructions, which included giving the patient oxygen, medicine and other measures,” Flanagan said in an email.
“Terry Fox and Sivulliq set course for a rendez-vous as soon as possible, offshore from Pond Inlet.”
The crew member was then taken to the Pond Inlet health centre once on shore, and was medevaced to Iqaluit where he was as of Wednesday.
Flanagan praised everyone involved in the rescue.
“I think, thanks to the prompt reaction from everyone at Baffin Fisheries, Coast Guard, and Pond Inlet medical centre, he is doing well,” Flanagan said.
The Sivulliq is a shrimp and halibut trawler, manned by a crew of 28 to 30 people, according to its profile on the Baffin Fisheries website.
The Terry Fox, named after the famous Canadian runner and cancer fundraiser, is a heavy icebreaker which has been in service since 1983, and is crewed by 23.
Coast Guard evacuation,
Ambulance in Pond Inlet,
Medical treatment in Pond Inlet,
Air Medivac, Pond Inlet to Iqaluit,
Ambulance in Iqaluit,
Medical Care in Iqaluit.
Hope the Baffin Fisheries maintains good medical insurance coverage to cover these expenses or it could break the fisherman’s bank account especailly if he is not a resident of Nunavut.
I would hate to see the final bill.
Safe and effective