Watch: Man medevaced from cruise ship 57 miles south of Honolulu after having multiple strokes
A U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point MH-65 Dolphin helicopter aircrew conducts a medevac for a cruise ship passenger Feb. 27 offshore from the Big Island. (Courtesy Video: U.S. Coast Guard/Air Station Barbers Point)
A 72-year-old man who experienced multiple strokes was medevaced from a cruise ship 300 miles offshore from Kailua-Kona on Thursday morning by a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter.
Joint Rescue Coordination Center Honolulu watchstanders were notified at 2:48 p.m. Feb. 26 from crew aboard the Koningsdam, a Holland America Line cruise ship, that the elderly passenger had experienced multiple strokes offshore from the Big Island.
Watchstanders consulted with the duty flight surgeon, who recommended a medevac within 20 hours.
An HC-130 Hercules airplane crew and an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point on O‘ahu rendezvoused with the Koningsdam at 9 a.m. Feb. 27 about 57 miles south of Honolulu.
The helicopter crew hoisted the ailing man from the cruise ship and transported him to Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu. He is reportedly in stable condition.
A crew member of a MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point on O‘ahu grasps the hand of a 72-year-old passenger of the Koningsdam cruise ship who had experienced multiple strokes and was airlifted from about 300 miles offshore from Kailua-Kona on Feb. 27, 2025. (Screen capture from U.S. Coast Guard video)- An MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point on O‘ahu hovers above the Koningsdam cruise ship as a passenger who had experienced multiple strokes is brought aboard to be airlifted to The Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu on Feb. 27, 2025. (Screen capture from U.S. Coast Guard video)
- An MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from the U.S. Coast Guard lands at The Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu on Feb. 27, 2025, transporting a patient from the Koningsdam cruise ship. (Screen capture from U.S. Coast Guard video)
“By combining the skills of our crews and the specialized capabilities of our aircraft, we are able to respond to emergencies across the vast Pacific region,” said HC-130 Hercules aircraft commander Lt. Cmdr. John Stockton from Air Station Barbers Point. “Teamwork is critically important for medevacs, which are among the most time-sensitive and high-stakes missions we take on.”
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