Medical evacuation from offshore installation in the Baltic Sea. First naval SAR mission of 2026
On Thursday, 8 January, Polish maritime rescue services carried out a medical evacuation from the offshore installation Wind Lift 1, operating in the Baltic Power offshore wind project area. The operation marked the first search and rescue (SAR) mission of 2026 conducted by Polish Naval Aviation.
security aviation navy pomerania west pomerania maritime rescue news08 january 2026 | 19:14 | Source: Gazeta Morska | Prepared by: Kamil Kusier | Print
fot. załoga śmigłowca W-3WARM
According to Sebastian Kluska, Director of the Polish Maritime Search and Rescue Service (MSPiR SAR), the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) received a distress notification at 13:21 from the master of Wind Lift 1, reporting the need for urgent medical evacuation of a crew member with a suspected leg fracture.
- Due to the height of the unit above sea level, the MRCC decided to deploy a rescue helicopter from the Polish Navy. In parallel, the rescue vessel m/s Huragan was dispatched from Łeba, Sebastian Kluska said.
A duty crew operating the W-3WARM rescue helicopter from the Gdynia Naval Aviation Brigade was tasked with the mission. As emphasized by Lt Cdr Marcin Kołodziejski, the operation was the first SAR response conducted by naval aircrews in the new year.
- Following the ‘rescue alarm – medical assistance’ call, the helicopter crew provided aid to an offshore worker. After hoisting the casualty onboard, the patient was transported to the airfield, where he was handed over to an emergency medical team, Marcin Kołodziejski stated.
According to MSPiR SAR, the helicopter landed at Darłowo Air Base at 14:43, where the conscious patient was transferred to a ground-based Emergency Medical Service (EMS) team.
The operation highlighted the close cooperation between civilian maritime rescue services and the Polish Armed Forces in ensuring safety for offshore energy operations in the Baltic Sea. The Gdynia Naval Aviation Brigade remains a key element of Poland’s maritime SAR system, having conducted 827 search and rescue missions and assisted 446 people since its establishment.
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Kamil Kusier
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