Helikopter - CHC får positiv omtale etter Royal Viking Sky - AIN

CHC Plays Pivotal Role In Massive Cruise Ship Rescue

The largest passenger ship rescue in modern times took place off the coast of Norway at the end of March. Heavy helicopters, including CHC Sikorsky S-92s and Airbus AS332s, hoisted 479 people to safety over the course of 18 hours from the crippled cruise ship Viking Sky in harrowing conditions that included winds up to 45 knots and waves that approached 50 feet. 

The ship was in imminent danger of foundering into a rocky coastline after its engines shut down on March 23 near Hustadvika. The ship was en route from Tromso to Stavanger on a 12-day cruise that began in Bergen and was scheduled to end at Tilbury, UK. Its engines failed due to low oil pressure exacerbated by heavy seas, according to the Norwegian Maritime Authority. 

CHC received a call for assistance from Norway’s National Rescue Service (HRS) at 2 p.m. local time Saturday, March 23. It responded with six crews from its bases at Floro, Heidrum, Statfjord, and Sola and support from its Stavanger operations center. The crews flew four CHC aircraft to the ship—two all-weather, SAR-configured S-92s and two AS332s. 

By 2:30 p.m. local time, the first CHC helicopter, an AS332L1 on contract with the Norwegian Ministry of Justice, began hoisting the injured off the deck. A second AS322L from Heidrun arrived on scene shortly thereafter. Some 15-20 passengers were lifted off the ship at a time. It soon became apparent that more helicopters could be needed and CHC’s operations center put out the call for two more SAR helicopters to be dispatched from Kristiansund.