Cruise ship chalks The Norwegian Cruise Line can add another activity for passengers during their visit to the Hawaiian Islands and the Republic of Kiribati: Ocean rescues.
up another sea rescue
The Norwegian Star helps an
ailing man aboard another shipBy Rod Antone
rantone@starbulletin.comFor the second time in a month, the Norwegian Star assisted the Coast Guard with picking up someone who needed help on the open sea. Yesterday, while en route to Kiribati's Fanning Island from Hilo, the Star picked up a 65-year-old man with a urinary tract infection.
"If it wasn't for them, we wouldn't have gotten to this gentleman for at least another day," said Coast Guard Spokesman David Mosely.
The Norwegian Star's usual seven-day Hawaiian Islands cruise takes it from Honolulu to Hilo to Fanning Island, about a 1,000 miles south of the Big Island, then back to Honolulu after two more stops in Kahului and Nawiliwili, Kauai.
Yesterday, the Star deviated 69 miles to pick up the victim who was on board a 36-foot pleasure sailboat called the S/Y God's Grace about 368 miles southwest of the Big Island.
Coast Guard officials said the victim remains on the Star because the ship's doctor said it would be safer to keep him on board rather than have him airlifted to Hawaii. The Star is expected to arrive in Kona by 8 a.m. today.
On April 2, the Norwegian Star was also called upon to assist the crew members of the Indonesian tanker Insiko 1907. A fire in the engine room killed one crew member and left another badly burned.
Mosely said though the two rescues are "just a coincidence," the Star is the only cruise ship that travels the route from Hawaii to the Republic of Kiribati on a regular basis.
"I don't think it was part of the plan," Norwegian Cruise Line spokesman Steve Hirano of Pacific Management Consultants said with a laugh yesterday. "But we're glad to help."