On 19 March a crew member from RMS St Helena was airlifted to hospital by the Portland Coastguard helicopter Rescue 106 after he fell nine feet between two metal containers. The 23-year-old man suffered a broken arm after the accident, which occurred while the ship was in Portland Harbour.
The helicopter, which was out exercising, was on the scene within eight minutes. The winchman was lowered onto the ship, assessed the situation and the injured man was then transferred onto a stretcher, winched into the helicopter and airlifted to Dorset County Hospital. The cargo-passenger ship only recently arrived at Portland for a period of maintenance.