Container Ship Crewmember Rescued near Santa Rosa
Coast Guard Helicopter Transports Man with Serious Burns to Safety
The Los Angeles-Long Beach Coast Guard received a memo Sunday from the crew on the Isla Bella, a container ship 6 miles south of Santa Rosa Island, that a 46-year-old man on board had received severe burns on his lower legs from spilled cooking oil. Both the name of the man and the cause of the spill have not yet been released.
A Coast Guard helicopter was deployed to evacuate the man, who was brought to the Santa Barbara Airport to await transfer to a medical facility. He was confirmed to be in stable condition.
The 738-foot Isla Bella is one of the two first liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered container vessels in the world. According to developers at TOTE Inc., the ship’s owner, LNG reduces emissions anywhere from 60 to 97 percent, depending on the specific pollutant. The container ship will be used for shipping services between Jacksonville, Florida, and San Juan, Puerto Rico. General Dynamics NASSCO, a San Diego shipbuilding company, and TOTE Inc. celebrated the Isla Bella’s launch in April 2015.
