Being a seafarer for almost a decade I can understand, that shipping is a very competitive business.
Caring is actually translated into costs that can be substantial, especially when dealing with medical equipment.
But can honestly care for your crew can actually save your business money?
Imagine the following scenario.
This is Capt. Richard. He has been with your fleet for the last 20 years. He has two daughters and a newborn son.
Richard hasn’t seen his family for over 7 months. He requested repatriation a couple of months ago, but it's summer and it’s really hard to find anyone to replace him. So you asked him to stay a few months more and he obliged, as always, after all, he is the Captain.
He is in his mid-fifties and smokes two packs of smokes everyday. Part of dealing with the pressure of the job, someone would say. He never had any heart problems in the past.
He is currently alongside a port in China, in the midst of the Covid crisis. It’s already 08:00 LT, the C/O is about to finish Cargo Ops but Cap is nowhere to be found. He phones his cabin but there is no reply. He leaves the CCR and heads to his cabin, where he finds him unconscious and without a pulse.
Immediately he notifies the agent & terminal starts CPR. There is no defibrillator on board.
China, due to Covid measures cannot take a crew member ashore even for an urgent health visit. Paperwork needs to be filled out. During that period of time, there is a crew member switching places on CPR every 2 minutes. It eventually takes a few hours but the pulseless Captain is transported to the hospital, where he is pronounced dead.
Now the company needs to find and fly a Captain urgently because the port authorities are not giving the vessel the port clearance it requires. The P&I club has to deal with a crew member's death claim family and the company has to deliver the bad news.
Does that sound extreme? Look at the following article by UK P&I Club.
What if that situation could be avoided if the Captain, who is already in a high-risk group, had to keep a weekly check on his heart through a portable and easy to use ECG device?
Affordable, easy to use and has all the functions to keep Capt. Richard alive.
Introducing Vital Signs Pro+