by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 1:00 PM ET, Sat December 13, 2025
This past week, U.S. Coast Guard personnel safely medevacked a 65-year-old man from the Celebrity Apex off the coast of Puerto Rico.
The incident happened on Thursday morning, when the new ship was about 24 nautical miles off the coast from Arecibo, Puerto Rico, en route from St. Kitts to Port Canaveral, Florida. Medical personnel onboard the ship determined that the man’s multiple medical conditions required a higher level of care than could be provided onboard.
The Coast Guard MH-60T Jayhawk crew flew from Air Station Borinquen and operated the medevac at sunrise. The aircrew first deployed their rescue swimmer, who boarded the Celebrity Apex to assess the situation and ready the patient for evacuation.
The Coast Guard then airlifted the patient and the patient’s wife by rescue litter and rescue basket. The rescue swimmer was also recovered. Official footage of the medevac is found on the U.S. Coast Guard's website.
“I'm proud of the teamwork that resulted in a successful patient transport from the Celebrity Apex to a higher level of care,” said Lt. Alberto Raymond, Coast Guard MH-60T Jayhawk aircraft co-pilot for the case. “Thank you to the crews of the Celebrity Apex, our team in San Juan, and Air Station Borinquen. All our training is for moments like this, and I'm grateful we could help save a life.”
Both the patient and his wife were transferred to the Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where they were immediately transported by EMS personnel to the Centro Medico Hospital.
Cruise ship medical care can help with routine illness and minor injuries, but medevacs are required when passengers need more critical or life-saving care, such as surgeries or other interventions.
The ship’s medical team determines when medevacs might be required, or whether a passenger is stable enough to wait until the ship visits its next port, but either way, the decision is made with the life of the patient in mind.
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