Injured seaman transferred to RNLI Lifeboat in offshore rescue.

The volunteer crew of the Sheerness all -weather lifeboat ‘Judith Copping Joyce’ was tasked by the UK Coastguard on Wednesday 7 September to rendezvous with the sea going dredger ‘Reimerswaal’ at The Warps pilot boarding area in the Thames estuary to remove a crewman with serious fractures to his arm.

Launching at 4.57pm with a crew of six the lifeboat was on the scene at 5.45pm where the casualty was quickly and safely transferred from the dredger to the ALB and from there, along with a crew mate, he was taken back to the boathouse at Sheerness, arriving at 6.32pm.

A call was put in to request an Ambulance to pick up the casualty, but with the possibility of a three to four hour wait the decision was taken that one of the crew members would drive the two men to Medway Hospital.

With the casualty on his way to hospital the lifeboat was re-fuelled, cleaned and ready for further service at 6.45pm.

Wind SW4,slight seas and good visibility on the flood tide.

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The RNLI charity 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 146,000 lives.

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