MEDEVAC in A3 and the Missing Cyclone Warning
MV Aurora, an 8,000 GT bulk carrier with 22 crew, is in Sea Area A3 at 12°S 170°W, about 600 nm north of Samoa. The Inmarsat-C terminal is operational and logged into an ocean region, but the EGC receiver is configured for NAVAREA IV, while the vessel is in NAVAREA XIV. A tropical cyclone warning for 14°S 168°W was broadcast three hours ago; the bridge received no EGC message. The NAVTEX receiver is fitted but has been silent since leaving Auckland. At 0600 local time, the second engineer reports severe abdominal pain and a rigid abdomen; the master suspects appendicitis and wants a MEDEVAC. The Inmarsat-C terminal has a distress button, and the radio officer knows that special access codes exist for medical advice and medical assistance but cannot recall the exact procedure.
1. Why did the vessel miss the cyclone warning? How should MSI reception be configured and verified?
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The EGC receiver was set to NAVAREA IV, but the vessel is in NAVAREA XIV. SafetyNET EGC broadcasts are area-specific, so a correct, operational terminal can still receive nothing useful if it is tuned to the wrong NAVAREA or METAREA. NAVTEX is also not a reliable offshore A3 MSI source, which explains the silence after Auckland.
The radio officer should set the EGC receiver to NAVAREA XIV and METAREA XIV, confirm that EGC is enabled and not inhibited, and check that the correct ocean region and LES are selected. Verification should not rely on waiting for a warning: request or check a scheduled MSI broadcast, inspect the EGC log, and confirm that routine MSI is being received. The vessel should then obtain the missed cyclone warning and plot the storm's forecast track. A log entry should record the wrong setting and the correction.
2. What is the correct Inmarsat-C procedure for the medical emergency?
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If the patient's condition is grave and imminent, the master may use the Inmarsat-C distress button to alert an RCC, then follow up with a detailed message. For medical advice or medical assistance short of a full distress alert, Inmarsat-C special access codes can be used through a LES, commonly code 32 for medical advice and code 38 for medical assistance. The radio officer should confirm the codes in the station documentation rather than guessing under pressure.
The message should include the vessel's name, call sign, MMSI, position, course and speed, patient age and sex, symptoms, vital signs, medical history, allergies, treatment given, number of persons on board, nearest port or airfield, weather, and the assistance requested. The terminal should be monitored continuously for a reply, and the RCC or LES should be told if the condition changes. A voice or messaging path to the RCC should be established as soon as possible.
3. How should the vessel integrate the medical evacuation with GMDSS distress, urgency, and MSI traffic?
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The medical situation and the cyclone warning must be handled together, not as separate problems. If the patient is critically ill, the vessel may use distress priority; if the situation is urgent but not immediately life-threatening, it should use urgency traffic, including PAN PAN on radiotelephony and urgency priority on Inmarsat-C. The RCC coordinates the MEDEVAC and can obtain telemedical advice while the vessel continues to receive MSI.
The vessel should keep the EGC watch on the correct NAVAREA and METAREA, request updated weather, and pass the cyclone's position and forecast to the master for route planning. Distress or urgency traffic takes precedence over routine MSI, but the vessel must not let the medical exchange stop it from receiving a cyclone warning. All transmissions, priorities used, and RCC instructions should be logged.