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RNLI Medevacs Injured Passenger From Disney Cruise Ship

tynemouth
Image courtesy Tynemouth RNLI

Published Sep 6, 2021 1:37 AM by The Maritime Executive

On Friday night, the Tynemouth Royal National Lifeboat Institution rescue boat carried out a medevac for an injured passenger from the cruise ship Disney Magic. 

At 20:55 hours, the station was called out to assist Disney Magic with a casualty transfer in the English Channel, just off the coast of Tynemouth. The individual had fallen and dislocated their shoulder while on board and had been treated by the ship's doctor.

Tynemouth's all weather lifeboat, the Osier, pulled up on the starboard side of the ship to wait for the casualty transfer. Once the individual was safely on board, the boat crew performed a quick medical assessment and gave the individual pain relief. A team from the Tynemouth Volunteer Life Brigade met the boat at the pier and transported the victim to the hospital; according to the brigade, the victim was a passenger and was accompanied on the lifeboat by a companion. 

The Disney Magic is only recently back in service after a long hiatus due to COVID-19. She re-launched operations in the UK market in mid-July, one month ahead of Disney Cruise Line's North American restart. Reservations for these short "staycation" UK sailings are available for British nationals only; as the name suggests, the sailings call only in UK ports, including London Tilbury, Newcastle (Port of Tyne), Liverpool and Southampton. For health and safety, the line has implemented a strict 100 percent vaccination policy and pre-boarding PCR test requirement for its UK operations, along with reduced capacity for social distancing. 

The sailing that was disrupted by an injury on Friday was the Disney Magic's first call of the post-COVID restart at the Port of Tyne's North Shields terminal. "Cruise has a significant impact on our local economy and tourism industry and we are delighted to see it returning to growth," said Port of Tyne commercial director Kate O'Hara in a statement. 

The 2,700-passenger Disney Magic is Disney Cruise Line's first vessel, and she was built by Fincantieri's Marghera yard in 1998. Her sister ship, Disney Wonder, is due to restart operations out of San Diego on October 1.