SANTO DOMINGO -— The USS Sioux City recently assisted in the rescue of a mariner in medical distress while operating in the U.S. 4th Fleet area of operations in the Caribbean.
The USS Sioux City, a Freedom-variant littoral combat ship launched two years ago, received information about a possible medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) from U.S. Coast Guard District 7, reporting that one of the crew members on a tanker ship required medical assistance.
The ship deployed a MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter assigned to the “Sea Knights” of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 22 to the vessel in need of help. When the helicopter arrived, the patient was placed in a litter, hoisted aboard the aircraft and immediately transported and transferred to a hospital in the Dominican Republic for further medical treatment.
“The duty to render assistance to other mariners at sea is something we take very seriously,” Cmdr. Daniel Reiher, commanding officer of Sioux City, said in the report. “The Sailors aboard Sioux City are trained and ready to answer this call whenever needed.”
All mariners are obligated to provide assistance to those in distress at sea per the 1974 International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS). U.S. and coalition forces have a longstanding tradition of helping mariners in distress by providing medical assistance, engineering assistance and search and rescue efforts.
The USS Sioux City is deployed to the U.S. 4th Fleet area of operations to support Joint Interagency Task Force South’s mission, which includes countering illicit drug trafficking in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.