Video: Coast Guard Medevac from Containership off Washington Coast

The U.S. Coast Guard was called on to provide medical assistance to a woman aboard the containership Matson Kodiak on Saturday morning. The 20,668 dwt containership had departed Tacoma, Washington on January 29 sailing to Anchorage, Alaska where it is scheduled to arrive on February 3.

The Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound command center received a call at 11:30 a.m. on January 30 from the ship’s health insurance provider stating that a 65-year-old woman aboard the vessel needed medical attention. They reported that she was experiencing breathing difficulty and temporary unconsciousness. 

At the time, the 710-foot container ship, Matson Kodiak, was transiting westbound in the Strait of Juan de Fuca off the Washington coast near Neah Bay. 

The Coast Guard command center diverted an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Air Station Port Angeles that was already airborne near Seattle to assist the containership. 

At 1 p.m., the rescue crew arrived on scene, deployed the rescue swimmer to assist, and safely hoisted the woman. The aircrew then proceeded to Olympic Medical Center in Port Angeles. The woman that they had evacuated was transferred to higher medical care at 1:50 p.m. The patient’s current medical condition is unknown.