A French Navy helicopter took an ill seafarer off a cargo ship on Thursday, 29 October 2026. The ship was near the coast of Brittany, France. The seafarer was flown to La Cavale Blanche hospital in Brest and arrived shortly after 17:00 local time.
The regional news service France 3 Bretagne and the newspaper Ouest-France reported the rescue. The name of the ship, the nationality of the seafarer and the illness were not published.
What happened
The cargo ship was sailing off Morlaix, in the Finistère area of western Brittany. The crew told CROSS Corsen that one of their seafarers needed medical care. CROSS Corsen is the French rescue centre for this part of the coast. It works like an MRCC, a maritime rescue coordination centre.
CROSS Corsen spoke with the ship and with CCMM, the French maritime medical advice centre in Toulouse. Together they decided that the seafarer had to leave the ship by helicopter.
The rescue centre sent an H160 helicopter of the French Navy from squadron 32F. At the ship, the helicopter crew lifted the seafarer up into the helicopter with a winch. They then flew the seafarer to Brest.
Free medical advice for ships at sea
CCMM is part of the Toulouse university hospital. It gives free medical advice by radio, phone or satellite to any ship at sea, of any flag. It is the French TMAS, a telemedical assistance service, under IMO rules, the hospital says.
In 2025, CCMM took 6,042 calls and cared for 2,831 patients. About 27% of them were on cargo ships. In 76% of cases, the patient was treated on board. In 11% the patient left the ship in port. Only about 11% needed an evacuation at sea by boat or helicopter, and 2% needed the ship to change course.
What to do if a crew member falls ill near France
These are general points from the CCMM website, not details from this case.
For an urgent problem, such as chest pain, loss of consciousness or trouble breathing, CCMM answers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Call +33 5 34 39 33 33.
You can also reach CCMM through a CROSS rescue centre, for example on VHF channel 16.
For a problem that is not urgent, a CCMM doctor answers on weekdays from 8:00 to 18:00. On Saturday, the hours are 8:00 to 13:00, French time.
Before you call, fill in the CCMM medical form for the patient. It is available in English on the CCMM website. Note the patient's consciousness, breathing, pulse and, if possible, blood pressure and temperature.
Don't wait if symptoms like pain, fever, cough or stomach problems don't go away. If you would see a doctor at home, call for medical advice at sea.
Cover photo: The coast of Morlaix Bay, Finistère, in July 2022. Illustrative photo, not the place of the rescue. Photo: Nicolas Torquet, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped).
Sources: France 3 Bretagne, 29 Oct 2026: En pleine mer, un marin évacué par hélicoptère pour raison médicale au large de Morlaix (At sea, a seafarer evacuated by helicopter for medical reasons off Morlaix), Ouest-France, 29 Oct 2026: Un marin hélitreuillé d'un cargo en baie de Morlaix pour raisons médicales (A seafarer winched from a cargo ship in Morlaix Bay for medical reasons), CHU de Toulouse: Téléconsultations médicales maritimes (CCMM) (Maritime medical teleconsultations).
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