MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentine Coast Guard charges for air rescue of South Korean fisherman

The rescue operation took place over a week ago some 261 nautical miles from the city of Puerto Madryn, outside the Argentine EEZ

A crew member from a South Korean vessel operating in the South Atlantic was air-evacuated by the Argentine Coast Guard and hospitalized in Trelew following an emergency case of appendicitis.

The patient is recovering successfully but the South Korean vessel agents, under the new 'cost effective' protocol, will have to pay for the whole rescue operation and hospitalization, (and a fine for 'illegally' fishing in Falklands/Malvinas waters with no Argentine authorization, based on Decree 256/2010) according to an understanding with the Seoul embassy in Buenos Aires.

Apparently the rescue operation took place over a week ago some 261 nautical miles from the city of Puerto Madryn, outside the Argentine EEZ, and was coordinated from the Maritime Traffic Outpost in Comodoro Rivadavia. The fishing vessel involved was the SAE IN CHAMPION, when a crew member started suffering acute abdominal pains, considered compatible with a possible case of appendicitis.

Following contacts with the vessel's agents and the South Korean embassy in Buenos Aires, it was agreed on the Argentine Coast Guard high seas rescue/evacuation operation involving a helicopter and a guide aircraft. The crew member was air transported to a Trelew hospital where peritonitis was confirmed with a successful surgery, and currently quick recovery.

End of story, according to the official report, the South Korean agents and embassy full filled their obligations.