BOKA VANGUARD

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Latest news

Perpetrators stole welding cable

On March 1, 2024, at 2.10 a.m. the 'Boka Vanguard' was boarded by four perpetrators, armed with knives, at the Pulau Batam Anchorage in pos. 1° 11.6' N 103° 59' E. The intruders stole a wlding cable.

Poisoned crew members drank cleaning product

Drinking a cleaning product has become fatal to an employee of a Chinese contractor on the 'Boka Vanguard'. Six Brazilian contractor employees illegally drank a detergent. This liquid is generally used for degreasing purposes and in all likelihood contained a mixture of ethanol and the highly toxic methanol. All six people experienced serious symptoms and reported this to the Boskalis crew after about 36 hours. The ship then shifted its course towards the coast of South Africa and simultaneously organized a medical evacuation by helicopter. One affected person died before the medical assistance arrived. The remaining five people were successfully evacuated and hospitalized in Durban, South Africa, where they are currently successfully recovering from poisoning. Boskalis emphasized that the company has a strict zero tolerance policy with regard to alcohol on its offshore vessels.

Five injured and one dead in accident aboard ship transported by Boka Vanguard

On Jan 7, 2020, at 09.30 a.m. the NSRI Durban, Netcare 911 ambulance services and the SA Air Force (SAAF), were tasked by the MRCC to prepare to respond to rendezvous with the 'Petrobras 70' that was approaching Durban inside the ‘Boka Vanguard‘ enroute from China to Rio de Janeiro, to assist five Brazilian male crew members suffering injuries sustained in an accident onboard. One man had suffered fatal injuries. On the ship’s captain’s request the body of the deceased man remained onboard the ship. The MRCC arranged a Western Cape Government Health EMS duty doctor to provide medical advice to the ship’s medics while the ship diverted from deep-sea and headed towards Durban. An SAAF BK-117, 15 Squadron Charlie Flight, helicopter was tasked to fly to Durban from Port Elizabeth and a 2nd SAAF helicopter, an SAAF Oryx, 15 Squadron helicopter, was made ready at Durban while the ship came closer to Durban. At 4.42 p.m. the sea rescue craft Alick Rennie launched from the Durban Sea Rescue station, accompanied by a Netcare 911 rescue paramedic and an IPSS rescue paramedic, to respond towards the ship to stand-by on the scene. At 5.30 p.m. the SAAF 15 Squadron Oryx helicopter, accompanied by two Netcare 911 rescue paramedics and an NSRI medic and the SAAF 15 Squadron, Charlie Flight, BK-117 helicopter, accompanied by two NSRI rescue swimmers, responded from Durban. On arrival on the scene, 28 nautical miles off-shore East of Durban, the SAAF Oryx helicopter landed on the ship’s helicopter pad. The SAAF BK-117 helicopter and the sea rescue craft stood-by on the scene while Netcare 911 rescue paramedics and the NSRI medic took over care of the five patients from the ship's medical crew and the patients were transferred into the Oryx helicopter. Medical treatment continued aboard the helicopter and the5 patients, one in a critical condition and four in stable conditions, were airlifted to a hospital in Durban. All five patients were now in stable conditions and recovering in hospital. Report with photos: https://www.nsri.org.za/2020/01/durban-tuesday-07-january-patient-evacuation-off-a-ship/