Just before 5 a.m. Saturday, in the pre-dawn dark of the Ambrose Channel, an NYPD Aviation Unit helicopter pulled off a precise landing on the bow of the offshore support vessel Deep Cygnus and hoisted an ailing crewman to safety. The unidentified 43-year-old was flown to Nassau University Medical Center on Long Island and was reported in stable condition. Officials did not immediately release further details about the medical emergency or the man's identity.
Video of the rescue, provided to the New York Post, shows the chopper touching down on the ship and a crew member being lowered to the deck, as reported by New York Post. The outlet reports that the U.S. Coast Guard requested NYPD assistance and that the patient was suffering seizures.
The ship and its work
Deep Cygnus is a 123-meter Norwegian-flagged subsea construction and inspection vessel that Reach Subsea has used on offshore cable and wind-farm projects in the New York Bight, as detailed by Reach Subsea. Commercial registries list the vessel as built in 2009 and show recent port calls in the New York area, per VesselFinder.
Where the rescue unfolded
The Ambrose Channel, several miles off Sandy Hook, N.J., and Breezy Point, Queens, is the main shipping lane into New York Harbor and regularly hosts international traffic, according to a state review of offshore activity. Local notices issued by the U.S. Coast Guard also show construction and cable-laying operations, including work by vessels like Deep Cygnus, have been active near the channel, and those operational notices have appeared in Coast Guard local notices for the district.
NYPD at sea
The NYPD Aviation Unit regularly supports maritime rescues and coordinates with federal agencies on offshore medical evacuations, as noted by Wikipedia. Police told the New York Post that their helicopters are equipped for hoist rescues and medical evacuations within a broad maritime radius of the city, which allows a rapid response to ships and offshore work sites.
The helicopter later landed at Nassau University Medical Center, where hospital staff treated the patient. The case remains under review by authorities.
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