WILMINGTON, N.C. - The Coast Guard medevaced a man Tuesday from a tug boat near Southport.
Coast Guard Station Oak Island received a call from the tug J.P. McAllister at approximately 1:10 p.m., stating the tug’s operator was unconscious and unresponsive while mooring the 523-foot motor vessel Chembulk Barcelona at the ADM facility on the Cape Fear River near Southport.
A 47-foot Motor Lifeboat (MLB) crew from Station Oak Island was returning from a training exercise at sea, heard the distress call over the radio, and diverted to the tug. A 29-foot Response Boat-Small (RBS) crew launched from Station Oak Island at approximately 1:31 p.m., and picked up Brunswick County EMT personnel before heading to the scene.
The MLB crew arrived on scene at about 1:15 p.m. and transferred Coast Guard personnel to the tug. A Coast Guard member administered first response medical care to the unconscious man, who regained consciousness.
The RBS crew arrived on scene at approximately 1:40 p.m. and transferred the Brunswick County EMTs to the tug. The Coast Guard assisted Brunswick County EMTs stabilize the man and bring him aboard the MLB. The MLB crew took the man to Deep Point Marina in Southport where he was placed in the care of awaiting Brunswick County EMS in stable condition. He was taken to Dosher Memorial Hospital in Southport.
“Due to the dynamic situation aboard a tug in the process of mooring a freighter, with other vessels in the immediate area creating a hazardous operating environment, decisions had to be expedited to get this man the care he needed as soon as possible,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Todd Murray, MLB operator for the case and officer of the day at Station Oak Island. "We’re grateful to have a strong partnership with Brunswick County and were able to get him the help he needed today.”