Emergency on NCL Escape

[63galaxie]

We were on our balcony after dinner watching a Royal Carib ship in the distance, or at least it looked like Anthem or Oasis just by what appeared to be the open aft. We commented that it looked as though their ship wasn't moving. Suddenly we began veering port side to the point that the Royal ship disappeared from our view within a minute. Immediately we saw a red light in the sky in the distance which turned out to be a Coast Guard helicopter with a spolight pointed at the water. It circled the ship multiple times, each time searching closer and closer to our ship. It hovered just above the ship almost above us. At one point, a crew member was sitting on the edge of the open helicopter doorway with his feet dangling out. There was an announcement made over the inside hallway speaker but we couldn't hear it on the balcony as the copter was so loud. I called guest services to find out what was said and I was told there was a medical emergency. The copter never landed. We suddenly saw what apppeared to be part of a sailboat mast pass right below us parallel to the ship. We could plainly see it because our ship had lights shining into the ocean near the bottom of the ship.We called 911 and they said they had a helicopter above the ship right now and they would come by and check it out later. I told them it was long gone. Then we noticed various debris periodically floating by further away from the ship about 100 feet or more including pieces of straight but rounded dowel shaped wood, and what looked like a long piece of rope with something on the rope. We have spent hours on the balcony last night and throughout the day and never saw anything like these items. The helicopter left after about 30-40 minutes. It was quite a strange experience. Not long after, our shipped slowed down to a crawl. We heard a second announcement which said Alpha xxxx (maybe Code or Cordova) port and starboard poolside. We wondered if crew was sent to look as well. Would love to know more info. My husband noted that our ship had turned off the lights at the bottom of the ship which allowed us to see the water. If anyone hears anything please comment. Our prayers are with anyone in need. We have some pictures and video of the copter and of the lights on the water from our ship but I can't get them to load.

Edited October 10, 2016 by 63galaxie

[BirdTravels]

Code Alpha is a medical emergency calling first responders to a specific location on the ship.

 

That had nothing to do with the helicopter overhead.

 

Unfortunately, medical evacuations at sea are too common.

 

There is no place to land on the escape. They transfer rescue swimmers and patients off the bow of the ship. We watched a medivac at 2 am during our Eacape cruise in May. Our friends had the same thing on a cruise two weeks later.

[63galaxie]

Thanks. That helps!!!!

 

 

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[Cubechick]

There was an evacuation on the transatlantic sailing as well. Same thing. Copter hovered near the front of the ship while the patient was winched aboard.

[volk904]

Just off the Escape. The had a heart attack victim picked up by the coast guard Monday night. They never land on the ship. They lower their rescue guy and take the victim up by basket.

 

 

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[volk904]

The Bartender told us they get medical pick ups every few weeks. Pretty common.

 

 

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[steamboats]

Although the ships do have a designated helicopter area on the newer ships this is not a classic helipad anymore where a helicopter can land. The modern rescue helicopters are way to heavy to land on a cruise ship. So usually the "helipad" is used for winching. Sometimes they even use another area depending on wind and weather conditions.

 

steamboats

[BirdTravels]

On the -away class ships, there is a helo target on the crew sundeckk on the bow. They hang a wind sock on the front flag pole. A crew member with batons guides the helo in,,, staying very still to avoid contact with the swimmer or his lines. (Avoids electrocution).

 

The fire team brings up hoses and charges them along with large chemical extinguishers. The fire team stays down one deck in the crew bar.

 

The captain steers a corse to minimize deck pitching. In May, the Escape did the evacuation doing 18 knots in 8 ft seas at 2 am. The helo did the lift flying sideways at 18 knots.

 

The rescue swimmer came down. Assessed the patient for about 15 min. Hoisted the patients wife up in a basket. Hoisted the patient on a litter. Then the swimmer went back up on a line.

[beerman2]

We had 2 situation on The Escape.

 

The medivac for Heart Attack, sounded like the helicopter was hovering right outside our balcony. Should have gotten up to look.

 

Also a fight in Skyline Bar. 3 people were escorted off the ship at St. Thomas. Now that is a very expensive trip, forfeiting the rest of your cruise and finding flight back home not to mention hotel accommodation

[Lido_Deck]

The Coast Guard flies Sikorsky HH-60 helicopters commonly referred to as a Jayhawk and they are much too big to land on a cruise ship.

 

In a medical evacuation they will hover over the bow, lower the rescue swimmer, the basket and then the helicopter will back away while the rescue swimmer and ship's crew members secure the patient. Then the Jayhawk will move back over the bow, lower the line and lift the basket and the patient. Once the patient is aboard they will lower the line for the rescue swimmer and retrieve him.

Edited October 10, 2016 by Lido_Deck

[beerman2]

The Coast Guard flies Sikorsky HH-60 helicopters commonly referred to as a Jayhawk and they are much too big to land on a cruise ship.

 

In a medical evacuation they will hover over the bow, lower the rescue swimmer, the basket and then the helicopter will back away while the rescue swimmer and ship's crew members secure the patient. Then the Jayhawk will move back over the bow, lower the line and lift the basket and the patient. Once the patient is aboard they will lower the line for the rescue swimmer and retrieve him.

 

The helicopter hovered above the sun deck on deck 19. It wasn't the bow, they secured a cable to the deck, then lowered the rescue swimmer, then basket.

 

The helicopter hovered over deck 19 then.

[Lido_Deck]

Video of helicopter medical evacuation from the bow of the Escape last June...

 

[david_sobe]

These are fairly common.

I believe its in bad taste to post photos or videos of victims of medical emergencies get posted online. I saw this once on Epic where the captain told everyone to stop taking pictures but that did not stop many idiotic passengers from taking video and photos.

Just imagine if your child or loved one was being placed in the back of an ambulance and your neighbor came out with a video recorder and placed it on the web. Would you not be angry? The same respect should apply here.

Edited October 10, 2016 by david_sobe

[Lido_Deck]

These are fairly common.

I believe its in bad taste to post photos or videos of victims of medical emergencies get posted online. I saw this once on Epic where the captain told everyone to stop taking pictures but that did not stop many idiotic passengers from taking video and photos.

Just imagine if your child or loved one was being placed in the back of an ambulance and your neighbor came out with a video recorder and placed it on the web. Would you not be angry? The same respect should apply here.

 

I guess you hate the evening news in Miami then?

 

The video I posted is so distant you can't identify anyone or even tell if they are a man, woman or child. There's nothing in poor taste about it at all. It's more about the professionalism of the US Coast Guard and the crew of the Escape.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

We were on our balcony after dinner watching a Royal Carib ship in the distance, or at least it looked like Anthem or Oasis just by what appeared to be the open aft. We commented that it looked as though their ship wasn't moving. Suddenly we began veering port side to the point that the Royal ship disappeared from our view within a minute. Immediately we saw a red light in the sky in the distance which turned out to be a Coast Guard helicopter with a spolight pointed at the water. It circled the ship multiple times, each time searching closer and closer to our ship. It hovered just above the ship almost above us. At one point, a crew member was sitting on the edge of the open helicopter doorway with his feet dangling out. There was an announcement made over the inside hallway speaker but we couldn't hear it on the balcony as the copter was so loud. I called guest services to find out what was said and I was told there was a medical emergency. The copter never landed. We suddenly saw what apppeared to be part of a sailboat mast pass right below us parallel to the ship. We could plainly see it because our ship had lights shining into the ocean near the bottom of the ship.We called 911 and they said they had a helicopter above the ship right now and they would come by and check it out later. I told them it was long gone. Then we noticed various debris periodically floating by further away from the ship about 100 feet or more including pieces of straight but rounded dowel shaped wood, and what looked like a long piece of rope with something on the rope. We have spent hours on the balcony last night and throughout the day and never saw anything like these items. The helicopter left after about 30-40 minutes. It was quite a strange experience. Not long after, our shipped slowed down to a crawl. We heard a second announcement which said Alpha xxxx (maybe Code or Cordova) port and starboard poolside. We wondered if crew was sent to look as well. Would love to know more info. My husband noted that our ship had turned off the lights at the bottom of the ship which allowed us to see the water. If anyone hears anything please comment. Our prayers are with anyone in need. We have some pictures and video of the copter and of the lights on the water from our ship but I can't get them to load.

 

As far as the debris, is it possible that it was due to the hurricane? Stuff that was destroyed and swept out to sea?

[biker@sea]

Yes, you were on the ship but apparently your visibility and angle was obscured because there is no open space whatsoever on Deck 19. And I know from experience they would have closed off multiple decks to passengers on the front of the ship and evacuate all the cabins close to the bow of the ship.

 

The Sun Deck on Deck 20 possible, but I still doubt it. You see, the officers in the Bridge cannot see what is happening on Deck 20 because it is behind and above them while they have a full, unobstructed view when the evacuation is on the bow.

 

With a thousand cameras available the bridge officers can See EVERYTHING .

 

.

Edited October 10, 2016 by biker@sea

[chengkp75]

Not going to pick a fight with anyone, but I have seen both the bow "helideck" used and the sports complex used (Dawn I think). It will all depend on wind speed and direction, as well as seas and swells period and direction, and they are not always in the same position. Typically, the Captain is directed to just hold a course and speed, so he does not need to "see" the helicopter ops, as there is little he/she can do in time should something go sideways. It is up to the pilot of the helo to maintain position and clearance of obstacles. One drawback of the aft/upper deck locations is the updraft from the ship's exhaust stacks, which can cause turbulence. Again, depending on wind direction, this can be mitigated. The Captain is generally not in charge of flight operations, he is simply the ship driver in these instances. Typically, the Chief Officer will be the officer in charge for the ship, with regards to signalling, grounding, and access to the winching area.

 

The cable is a grounding cable, since the helicopter builds up significant static charge moving through the air, and needs to be grounded. Also, most typically, the helicopter will move away from the ship for most of the hoisting and lowering operations, as it is far better for the swimmer or the patient to get ducked in the ocean than to smack into the steel of the ship.

[Seminole1975]

Not going to pick a fight with anyone, but I have seen both the bow "helideck" used and the sports complex used (Dawn I think). It will all depend on wind speed and direction, as well as seas and swells period and direction, and they are not always in the same position. Typically, the Captain is directed to just hold a course and speed, so he does not need to "see" the helicopter ops, as there is little he/she can do in time should something go sideways. It is up to the pilot of the helo to maintain position and clearance of obstacles. One drawback of the aft/upper deck locations is the updraft from the ship's exhaust stacks, which can cause turbulence. Again, depending on wind direction, this can be mitigated. The Captain is generally not in charge of flight operations, he is simply the ship driver in these instances. Typically, the Chief Officer will be the officer in charge for the ship, with regards to signalling, grounding, and access to the winching area.

 

The cable is a grounding cable, since the helicopter builds up significant static charge moving through the air, and needs to be grounded. Also, most typically, the helicopter will move away from the ship for most of the hoisting and lowering operations, as it is far better for the swimmer or the patient to get ducked in the ocean than to smack into the steel of the ship.

 

I mean no disrespect to the victims that were evacuated, but if I had to go through all that, I would have a heart attack! It sounds incredibly scary and dangerous. The helicopter pilot, the swimmer, the crew are very brave IMHO-my hats off to them! And Mr. Cheng, I always learn so much from your posts. Fascinating and very professional. Thank you!

Edited October 10, 2016 by Seminole1975

[david_sobe]

I guess you hate the evening news in Miami then?

 

The video I posted is so distant you can't identify anyone or even tell if they are a man, woman or child. There's nothing in poor taste about it at all. It's more about the professionalism of the US Coast Guard and the crew of the Escape.

My comments were not directed at you or anyone else. I was speaking broadly. In 2010 I had a horrific incident aboard the Epic where people were jumping tables and deck chairs trying to get the best angle of a life and death rescue. Everyone acted like animals for the kill and showed the family no respect. Just another vacation photo to them but no dignity for the poor girl's family who could see nothing but a boat full of camera flashes as their daughter in the fight for her life.

Its had an effect on me so maybe I am overly sensitive.

[ptuder]

I was on the Escape last week and my husband and I watched the evacuation. Beerman is correct in that it was over the center of the ship. We went up to the Haven sun deck which is the front of deck 19. We had our backs to the bow as the helicopter was hovering over the middle of the ship. They dropped their cable, their guy came down then they lowered a basket. Someone went up in the basket and then someone went up in a stretcher. Lastly their guy went back up just holding on to the cable. In between each of these lifts they lowered a yellow/gold light via cable which then went back up with the people. It was impressive to watch the helicopter appear to be hovering in place although it was obviously moving the same speed as the ship. The ship was at a crawl at that time but still felt mighty windy up on deck. Amazing training that these people have to be able to do this in the dark at sea. If I recall this was about 10:30 at night. We said a prayer for whoever needed help and for the rescuers for doing what they do.

[NLH Arizona]

My comments were not directed at you or anyone else. I was speaking broadly. In 2010 I had a horrific incident aboard the Epic where people were jumping tables and deck chairs trying to get the best angle of a life and death rescue. Everyone acted like animals for the kill and showed the family no respect. Just another vacation photo to them but no dignity for the poor girl's family who could see nothing but a boat full of camera flashes as their daughter in the fight for her life.

Its had an effect on me so maybe I am overly sensitive.

I never understand why people have to take pictures or videos of a tragedy. I think that when a situation happens, the Captain should make sure everyone is inside the ship, so that the injured party and their family are allowed the respect they deserve and not have someone snapping pictures or taking a video so they can show their friends back home or worse yet, post it online. It seems like today, some just want to see how many online hits they get on their pictures or videos and have no compassion for the injured party or their family. Sad, but that is how some folks get their kicks.

[Cuervosar]

I never understand why people have to take pictures or videos of a tragedy. I think that when a situation happens, the Captain should make sure everyone is inside the ship, so that the injured party and their family are allowed the respect they deserve and not have someone snapping pictures or taking a video so they can show their friends back home or worse yet, post it online. It seems like today, some just want to see how many online hits they get on their pictures or videos and have no compassion for the injured party or their family. Sad, but that is how some folks get their kicks.

 

It's because everybody gets breathless with excitement and wants a story to tell. And now we have instant social media and wi-if enabled ships.

 

Just read the tone of the original post, "oh my god, oh my god, oh my god...".

 

I did 16 years with SAR, and I've been the guy on the end of the line under the helo. Our rule of thumb is that the average IQ drops 100 points in the presence of a helo. The other thing that happens is that suddenly 1,000 untrained people want to help. We call that "bringing victims to the scene".

 

The one thing the team on scene needs more than anything is clear communications and space to operate. Next time, do everybody a favor and stay away from the scene, put your cameras away, and let them do their jobs.