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Old 20-07-2021, 07:03   #1
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Death at Sea

As a matter of interest ..what would be the protocol if you had a death of a crew member - and the closest port is 2weeks away ?
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Old 20-07-2021, 07:07   #2
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Re: Death at Sea

Ignore - I have found plenty material that explains it all
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Old 21-07-2021, 05:02   #3
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Re: Death at Sea

Yeah, as cruel as it is, you need to keep the body onboard.

A mate of mine once had the Owner die on a transatlantic from an undiagnosed abdominal something. The professional crew had tried both antibiotics and painkillers, but he just got worse and finally died.

Phil said that when the Owner finally departed, they all sat in the cockpit crying and smoking (only one of them smoked), then they wrapped the body in a space blanket, "rechristened" it Oscar and secured it on deck behind the helm. Then they used frozen items from the freezer in rotation (they kept refreezing them, so those food items were a toss) to pile around Oscar to keep him relatively cold until they got to land.

Fortunately (although un-fortunately for the wife), she was onboard and was able to corroborate events once they got into port, so there was no suspicion of nefarious cause of death.

Phil said after they'd got Oscar wrapped, secured and had fallen into the routine of rotating frozen goods, the only freaky thing was having a dead body behind you while helming/standing watch at night. They got over this as well, by greeting and saying goodnight to Oscar at change of watch.

Sorry if this is rather macabre and gruesome, but it ain't fiction.

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Old 21-07-2021, 06:55   #4
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Re: Death at Sea

Thank you very much - my elderly mother was on board recently - we ( incl her ) were just wondering what would happen if she never woke up .. now I know
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Old 21-07-2021, 16:09   #5
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Re: Death at Sea

Yes, if you're close to land, you notify whatever bodies you think necessary. Some places have water police, others, coast guard like organizations. You can probably arrange for an ambulance at the nearest dock, if she's alive when you make the call. Let's hope she dies peacefully, untraumatically, in her sleep at home. If you're praying people, I'd say a prayer for her, and let her know that you will.

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