Maritime Mobile Service Net
handles at-sea medical emergency
Members of the Maritime Mobile Service Net 14.3000 recently were instrumental
in the successful handling of yet another medical emergency at sea.
The crisis arose when a young hand aboard a commercial fishing vessel
in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Central America suffered serious
knife wounds in a fight with a crewmate.
Although not an amateur licensee, the captain of the Motor Vessel 'Brandon
Travis' knew he could get prompt assistance on the net's 14.300 MHz frequency.
"Under normal conditions, transmissions by non-amateur stations on
this frequency are prohibited by international law," said Assistant
Net Manager Tom Job, VE3II, who lives near Toronto and took the
initial call for help.
After obtaining critical information, Job contacted the Coast Guard's
District 7 Search and Rescue Center in Miami and relayed the situation
report. The Coast Guard in turn contacted Honduran authorities to arrange
to evacuate the injured man.
The net also was able to get physician Jim Hirschman, K4TCV, a net member
in Miami, on frequency. Hirschman has extensive experience assisting with
injuries and medical emergencies via the radio.
He was one of the principal MMSN members to provide assistance and advice
to the parents of Willem van Tuyl, then 13, after he was shot and seriously
injured in a pirate attack on the family's sailboat in 2000.
The net remained open past its normal closing time to keep an ear on
the situation. Early the next morning, the captain of the Brandon Travis
informed the net that the injured man had been removed to a Honduran naval
vessel and taken to a hospital.
The captain of the Brandon Travis checked into the net two days after
the incident to thank everyone for their help.
At the captain's request, the net supplied him with a copy of ARRL Amateur
Radio license study materials.
Source: Radio
Amateurs of Canada
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