A crewman working aboard a the fishing boat GOLDEN ALASKA has been airlifted from the vessel by the United States Coast Guard. The sixty year old crewman was complaining of severe abdominal pain and was taken to St. George Island with plans to transfer him to Anchorage for further evaluation and a treatment.
In cases of medical emergencies aboard ships at sea, the United States Coast Guard can be contacted for medical advice via ship to shore communications. There are also numerous private medical firms that are available to provide ship to shore medical advice for treatment of injured crewmen. While getting an injured or ill crewman to shore for treatment may cost time and money, delays in obtaining medical treatment may have severe consequences. In serious cases, a crewman may need to be airlifted from the vessel. Fishing vessels in Alaska operating long distances from the nearest medical facilities must be well prepared to handle medical emergencies and have plans for medical evacuation of crewmen needing medical treatment. Most vessels have sophisticated medical supplies aboard and large processors and catcher processors will have nurses or emergency medical technicians aboard to provide initial medical assessments of crewmen.