Spain's sea rescue service, Salvamento Marítimo, flew two seafarers from merchant ships to hospital this week. Both needed urgent medical care. The first medevac (medical evacuation) was south of Málaga on 20 October 2026. The second was off Galicia, in north-west Spain, on 21 October.
Salvamento Marítimo gave the news on its official X account. It did not say what illness or injury the two seafarers had. It did not give their names or say how they are now.
A Ukrainian crew member off Galicia
On 21 October a Ukrainian crew member needed medical evacuation from the general cargo ship Cycladic Spere. This is the ship name that Salvamento Marítimo used. The ship was about 149 nautical miles north-west of Cabo Vilán, a cape on the coast of Galicia.
The rescue coordination centre in Finisterre sent the helicopter Helimer 402. The helicopter took the seafarer to Alvedro, the airport of A Coruña, where it is based. From there he was taken to hospital. The newspaper La Voz de Galicia reported that he went to a hospital in A Coruña.
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A tanker crew member south of Málaga
On 20 October a Cyprus-flagged tanker asked for the immediate medical evacuation of a crew member. The ship was about 25 nautical miles south of Málaga, on Spain's Mediterranean coast.
The rescue coordination centre in Tarifa sent the rescue boat Salvamar Alnitak and the helicopter Helimer 222. The helicopter flew the seafarer to Málaga airport. An ambulance was waiting there to take him to hospital. Salvamento Marítimo did not name the tanker.
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What crews can do
A medevac is a serious step. A helicopter lift at sea has its own risks. Usually the ship first gets medical advice by radio. These points can help:
Call for help early when a crew member is seriously ill or injured. A late call can leave less time for a safe rescue.
In Spanish waters, Salvamento Marítimo says you can call it on VHF channel 16. Its emergency phone numbers are 900 202 202 and 112.
The MLC is the Maritime Labour Convention. Under the MLC, a seafarer who needs immediate medical care must get access to care ashore. This applies to ships in a country's waters. Flag states must also make sure ships can get medical advice by radio or satellite. This advice must be free and available at any hour.
Prepare the patient and the deck for the helicopter as the rescue centre tells you. Have the patient's passport, seaman's book and medical notes ready to go with them.
Tell the ship's agent and the company. The agent can help the seafarer in hospital and with travel home.
Read more on Crewboard:
Cover photo: The Salvamento Marítimo helicopter Helimer 210 over the sea at A Coruña. The Tower of Hercules lighthouse is behind it. Illustrative photo, not from the medevacs in this story. Photo: Jose Luis Cernadas Iglesias/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 (cropped).
Sources: Salvamento Marítimo on X: medevac of a Ukrainian crew member from the cargo ship Cycladic Spere (21 Oct 2026), Salvamento Marítimo on X: medevac of a crew member from a Cyprus-flagged tanker south of Málaga (20 Oct 2026), Salvamento Marítimo on X: emergency numbers and VHF channel 16 (20 Oct 2026), La Voz de Galicia: Salvamento traslada a un hospital de A Coruña al tripulante ucraniano de un mercante (21 Oct 2026), ILO: Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (Regulation 4.1, medical care on board ship and ashore).
