The main purpose of S.A.R teams is to save lives!
Last week I visited the ZIM Ningbo. The captain showed me pictures of a crew member who was airlifted somewhere off the Japanese coast. It was a medical emergency for someone who needed an immediate operation otherwise he would have died within hours. Airlifted to a hospital he was operated on successfully. He is now recuperating in Bulgaria.
In earlier days at sea the seafarer would not have survived and even nowadays the result is not always positive. ( Read my blog; MV Vancouver Express )
