The seafarer had to change 4 ships to get to the hospital

The Iran-flagged  dry cargo ship «Viana» requested emergency medical evacuation because of suspected   pneumonia at the pilot which was on board the vessel. At that moment the ship was trading  in the Caspian Sea. The crew members could not help their colleague without outside assistance,  and the sick  seafarer had to wait  for evacuation which began from the icebreaker "Captain Meitsak", then he embarked the vessel "Denis Vodol", and then – "Argo". The latter brought the sick pilot to the nearest medical institution.

Perhaps, the fact that the seafarer had to make such  a complicated and tortuous route to the hospital was attributed not to just the absence of a ship's doctor on board the "Viana" but also to the problems with complement of its  medical bay. So, during the latest Port State Control inspection dated  August 29, 2017, it was found, in addition to 19 other issues, that the necessary medical equipment was not available on board. It is likely that the situation has not been improved since.

 

-From personal experience I can say that I worked on ships flying the  flag of convenience, where the companies paid due attention to medicine on board, including the equipment of ship's bays: there were a defibrillator, an artificial respirator and other essential equipment, and the contents of a medical locker met all the requirements, - says Artem Boev, Chairman of the SUR Sevastopol Primary Organization.

-But we understand very well that in companies where seafarers are not paid wages or there is a lack of supplies, one can hardly expect such a responsible attitude to the health of the crew members. Meanwhile, such a disease as pneumonia does not develop to a critical state in half a day- this takes time.  And if the ship had had the necessary medical equipment, and the ship had been manned with a doctor, the seafarer would have started treatment on time and avoided emergency hospitalization.