A 43-year-old male crew on Marella Cruises' ship Marella Discovery was medevaced Saturday night, November 21, while the liner was anchored in Weymouth Bay / close to Isle of Portland (southern England UK). The man fell ill with suspected meningitis.
The rescue team managed to transport the man on a rescue boat back to Weymouth Harbour from where he was ambulanced to a local medical facility.
According to the Weymouth RNLI report, Weymouth RNLI all-weather lifeboat Ernest and Mabel had been launched at 10:53 p.m. on Saturday, November 21, to medevac a crew member from Marella Discovery anchored in Weymouth Bay.
"The lifeboat was on scene at 11.12 pm and transferred a 43-year-old crew member from the cruise ship with suspected meningitis onto the lifeboat for transporting back to Weymouth.
The lifeboat arrived back into harbour at 11.45 pm where the casualty was handed over to a waiting ambulance. The lifeboat was then refuelled and made ready for the next shout.”
A spokesperson for the cruise line confirmed the medevac and said the crew member was expected to recover and he was in “good spirits”.
Marella Cruises said the crew member was taken to the hospital and tested for COVID and meningitis. All tests returned negative.
For more Marella Discovery accidents and incidents see the ship's CruiseMinus page.