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Gravesend Lifeboat Responds to Mayday Following Serious Injury Onboard Ship
Gravesend Lifeboat was tasked to a Mayday broadcast on VHF Channel 16 from a large work ship in the River Thames, following a serious incident in which a crew member fell from height inside the vessel and sustained a severe head injury.
The lifeboat crew of three was requested to launch immediately at 7:40pm on Tuesday 20 October to carry out a medical assessment and assist with the casualty’s extraction.
The lifeboat proceeded at speed downriver to London Gateway, Essex in Sea Reach, where the vessel was alongside a barge.
Duty RNLI Thames Commander Tyler Bonham said, 'on arrival, two Gravesend Lifeboat crew members boarded the casualty vessel via a pilot ladder, carrying specialist casualty care equipment, they were met by members of the vessel’s crew, who escorted them to the generator room, where the casualty was located.'
The lifeboat crew conducted a thorough casualty assessment, which confirmed that the casualty was seriously injured and required careful handling. The confined spaces, tight bulkheads and steep stairways within the generator room presented significant challenges, prompting detailed discussions with ship's crew to establish the safest possible extraction route.
Tyler added, ‘to minimise further injury and reduce risk to the casualty, a multi-stage evacuation plan was agreed.'
The plan involved carefully assisting the casualty out of the generator room and onto the deck, securing them in a stretcher, and using the vessel’s onboard systems to lower them onto a tug waiting alongside.
The tug was selected because it provided a larger and more stable working platform than the lifeboat in the circumstances, offering the safest option for transferring the casualty shoreside.
Once the casualty was safely secured on the tug’s deck, both Gravesend Lifeboat crew members remained alongside to monitor their condition. The tug then made the short journey to a floating pontoon, where an ambulance crew and doctor were waiting.
The lifeboat crew provided a medical handover to the attending medical team. Once the casualty had been safely transferred into the ambulance, Gravesend Lifeboat was stood down and returned to station.
The incident highlights the importance of our volunteer's effective teamwork, clear communication and careful planning when responding to medical emergencies in challenging environments at sea and on the River Thames.
RNLI Media Contacts
Ashley Bard, Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer for RNLI South East, [email protected]
Stella Sims, RNLI Regional Communications Manager for London and South East England, 07483 316675, [email protected]
Sam Haddad, RNLI Regional Communications Manager for London and South East England, 01202 137713, [email protected]
Julie Rainey, RNLI Regional Communications Lead for London and South East England, 07827 358256, [email protected]
RNLI Press Office, 01202 336789, [email protected]
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The RNLI is the charity that saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,700 lives.
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