The Coast Guard on Friday, May 11, retrieved a New Jersey-bound cruise passenger from Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas ship, due to symptoms consistent with kidney failure.
An 83-year-old woman was airlifted off the deck of the 1,142 ft vessel around 160 mi southeast of Elizabeth City, North Carolina.
MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter and fixed-wing HC-130 Hercules airplane from Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina were dispatched to ship’s location at sea. This emergency response was launched after the Anthem’s captain radioed Fifth District Command Center (Portsmouth, Virginia) at 10:30 a.m. to request medical evacuation.
The helicopter crew hoisted the passenger, a family member and a nurse and transported them to Norfolk Sentara General Hospital (Norfolk, Virginia). The patient has not yet been identified and her condition is unknown.
Anthem of the Seas was sailing off the coast of Maryland. The ship is en route to Cape Liberty Cruise Port, Bayonne after a 10-day cruise to Bermuda and Caribbean. It has been at sea since Wednesday when it left Haiti and is due to arrive in New Jersey today.
For other Anthem of the Seas accidents and incidents see at the ship's CruiseMinus page.