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Mother and Son Pulled From the Water After an Hour in the Baltic Sea

Stena Spirit
Stena Spirit (file image courtesy Stena Line)

Published Jun 29, 2023 8:24 PM by The Maritime Executive

Responders from Sweden made a miraculous rescue on Thursday, saving a young child and his mother from the water after an hour of immersion. 

On Thursday afternoon, the ferry Stena Spirit was underway in the Baltic on a voyage from Karlskrona, Sweden to Gdynia, Poland. At about 1620 hours, a seven-year-old fell in, and his mother jumped in after him in an attempt to rescue him. 

The crew reported the man-overboard, and the Swedish Maritime Administration responded to the request for assistance. Multiple NATO vessels and helicopters were under way in the area conducting an exercise, and they joined in the emergency response effort, along with Stena Spirit. Poland also dispatched a rescue helicopter from an airfield in Darlowo. 

AIS data shows the Stena Spirit executing a perfect Williamson turn to return on a reciprocal course

About one hour later, a rescue helicopter from the Swedish Maritime Administration found the mother and winched her aboard. The child was found separately and saved by the ship's crew, who retrieved him with a rescue boat, a Stena spokesperson told local media. 

They were delivered to a hospital in Karlskrona, according to an official from the maritime administration; their condition was not known.