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St John's Marine Ambulance has been deployed to help a man on board the cruise ship Britannia, as she dropped anchor in the Little Russel ahead of today's planned visit.
The Flying Christine III with an emergency medical team on board left the harbour around 18:30 yesterday evening with the team going on board the cruise ship to assess the patient, before he was transferred onto the marine ambulance and brought back to shore.
He was transferred into an ambulance and taken to the PEH for further treatment.
This came on a particularly busy Wednesday for the St John Emergency Ambulance Service, as crews attended 28 calls in 24 hours. It was also the second call out of the Flying Christine in the last week.
The patient was transferred to the PEH via ambulance yesterday evening.
P&O’s flagship vessel, The Britannia, was the first cruise ship scheduled to visit Guernsey this season, carrying up to 4,324 people. It was supposed to be anchored off Guernsey today, but it left the island since the medical emergency, believed to be due to the forecast bad weather.
There are nine other vessels set to visit Guernsey during April. The season itself also includes five inaugural calls including Saga’s Spirit of Discovery on her maiden voyage, Cruise & Maritime’s new Vasco Da Gama and Hapag Lloyds’s brand new expedition ship, Hanseatic Inspiration.
Economic Development said it was delighted to welcome back some "regular friends" including Princess Cruises’ the Sapphire Princess and her sister, the Crown Princess, for twelve calls accounting for over 36,000 passengers between them both.
Cunard line are also calling again with the ‘three Queens’ to Guernsey this season, Queen Elizabeth, Queen Victoria, and Queen Mary 2.
Deputy Dawn Tindall, Economic Development member, said: "Britain has witnessed phenomenal growth as a cruise destination, with an average annual growth of 17%. Much of this is down to the growth in Round British Isle cruises, especially amongst Americans, where Guernsey is included in many itineraries and recognised as a key destination, as evidenced by Cruise Critic UK Editors Picks award which Guernsey was proud to receive again in 2018, making it the fourth such award since 2015.
"The cruise market has continued to be one of the priorities of VisitGuernsey and has received positive commitment from the cruise industry for 2019, 2020 and 2021. An objective for VisitGuernsey is to encourage cruise passengers to return for holidays and longer visits."
Pictured top: The Flying Christine heading to the Britannia.
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