RNLI evacuates passenger from cruise ship anchored in Torbay

Torbay RNLI’s volunteer crew carried out a medical evacuation after a passenger was taken ill on board a visiting cruise ship anchored in Torbay last week.

The 84,000-tonne vessel, carrying more than 2,000 passengers and crew on a three-day Channel Islands cruise from Southampton, requested assistance at around 3.15pm on Thursday 4 September.

Eight volunteer crew launched the Severn-class all-weather lifeboat from Brixham shortly before 3.30pm and reached the ship within 15 minutes.

With the help of the ship’s crew, they transferred the female casualty and a member of staff onto the lifeboat before returning to Torquay Harbour. Paramedics from South Western Ambulance Service were waiting to take the woman to Torbay Hospital for further treatment.

The ship’s crew member was later returned to the vessel by the lifeboat team, which was back in service by 5.18pm.

The call-out was one of four within a busy 24-hour period for Torbay RNLI, with three other shouts attended by the station’s inshore lifeboat crews.