A US Coast Guard helicopter crew hoisted an ailing crewmember from the US-flagged cargo ship Ocean Gladiator about 86 miles (138 kilometres) off the Big Island of Hawaii on Wednesday, October 7.
The MH-65 Dolphin crew from Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point hoisted the 55-year-old man at 08:35 local time. They then transferred him to Hilo International Airport for a higher level of medical care.
The coast guard's Joint Rescue Coordination Center (JRCC) Honolulu received a medevac request from the ship's crew at 07:50 on Tuesday, October 6, when the vessel was 540 miles (869 kilometres) southeast of the Big Island.
A duty flight surgeon recommended an evacuation. Watchstanders then monitored the patient's condition and planned the helicopter response for when the ship came within range.
US Coast Guard footage showed two decommissioned 87-foot (26.5-metre) Marine Protector-class cutters and a fuel barge aboard the ship. The cutters had been repainted for transfer to the Philippine Coast Guard.
The ship was on a voyage from Baltimore to Manila and that automatic identification system (AIS) data showed her resuming the voyage after the medevac.
The Philippine Coast Guard formally accepted the former USCGC Marlin and USCGC Bluefin at a ceremony in Baltimore in August.
It plans to recommission them as BRP Pag-Asa and BRP Patag following their arrival in October.
