(Kent Island, MD – A crewmember of a tanker ship was airlifted by the Maryland State Police near Kent Island on Wednesday morning after the individual experienced a medical emergency while the ship was underway in the Chesapeake Bay en route from Baltimore.
A Maryland State Police helicopter crew conducted an aerial hoist operation from the Chem Jupiter, a 462-foot oil/chemical tanker ship flagged out of Liberia. As the tanker was underway in the Chesapeake Bay near Bloody Point, one of the ship’s crewmembers began experiencing a medical emergency requiring immediate attention. Shortly before 8:45 a.m., the U.S. Coast Guard-Sector Maryland contacted SYSCOM and requested MSP complete an aerial (hoist) extraction from the vessel. The patient’s condition prohibited debarkation onto a smaller Coast Guard vessel.
MSP Aviation Command Trooper 6, based at the Easton Airport in Talbot County, responded and located the ship, which was moving north at 12 knots. The MSP helicopter crew established communications with the Coast Guard crew and the ship’s captain. A delivery point was determined, at which time a Trooper/Paramedic was lowered onto the ship’s deck via the aircraft hoist. The MSP crew used the “screamer suit” style harness to hoist the patient and Trooper back into the aircraft. This style harness allows the Trooper and patient to be hoisted together. After the patient and Trooper/Paramedic were safely loaded into the aircraft, Trooper 6 transitioned to a medevac and flew the patient to Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis.
The Maryland State Police Aviation Command has served Maryland citizens since 1970 and operates a fleet of ten AW-139 helicopters from seven bases throughout Maryland. Each aircraft provides coverage 24/7/365 to Maryland residents and visitors. The MSPAC missions include medevac, law enforcement, search and rescue, homeland security, and disaster assessment. The success of the missions relies heavily on the cooperative efforts of local fire, rescue, EMS, law enforcement agencies, and our partners at the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Park Police.
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~ MD State Police