Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Alex Morris, an aviation mechanical technician, hoists a 48-year-old man into an Air Station Kodiak MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter 220 miles south of Dutch Harbor, Alaska, Jan. 11, 2023. The MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrew hoisted the patient from the 550-foot container ship FPMC 33 and safely transported him back to Cold Bay for a wing-to-wing transfer with LifeMed Alaska personnel who transported the patient to a higher level of medical care. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Lt. Scott Kellerman.

A 44-year-old mariner who suffered broken legs aboard a container ship south of Dutch Harbor was safely transported to Cold Bay for medical care this past week by crew from Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak, officials from the agency said.

Watchstanders at the Coast Guard 17th District command center in Juneau said they received the initial request for help on the evening of Jan. 10 and requested that the container ship FPMC 33 meet the Coast Guard Kodiak aircrew at a rendezvous point 220 miles south of Dutch Harbor.

“Crewmembers abord the FPMC33 were able to stabilize the man as the ship transited to the rendezvous point,” said Master Chief Petty Officer Christopher Cole, Coast Guard 17th District command duty officer. “Through the coordination of Sector Anchorage watchstanders, Air Station Kodiak personnel, the FPMC33 crew, and the LifeMed Alaska aircrew we were able to quickly transport the man to a higher level of care.”

The patient was reportedly in stable condition at the time of the rescue.

Weather conditions during the rescue were 15 to 20 mph winds with gusts up to 30 mph, 10-foot seas, an air temperature of 33 degrees and water temperature of 43 degrees.

Advertisement