LCI helicopter joins Lomar vessel for joint sea rescue mission off the coast of Australia

December 17, 2021

A helicopter in the fleet of LCI, the Libra Group’s leading aviation leasing company, joined a vessel in the group’s Lomar shipping fleet to stage a dramatic and unique rescue mission off the Australian coast yesterday (16 December).

The Trinidad Trader, one of Lomar’s container ships, received a mayday distress signal and immediately diverted to the scene where two seafarers were stranded on a small boat that was sinking. The crew of the Trinidad Trader were preparing to launch the ship’s Rescue Boat with urgency to save the seafarers when a search & rescue helicopter appeared on the scene to find the men and save them. This intervention off the coast of Victoria enabled the vessel to continue on her passage from Tauranga in New Zealand to Melbourne.

The rescue helicopter was a Leonardo AW139 which is owned by LCI and leased to Babcock Australia which delivers critical helicopter emergency medical services (EMS) for Ambulance Victoria. The aircraft are fully fitted with equipment for rescue missions and in this case the stranded men were winched to safety aboard the helicopter and returned to the mainland.