The following is the text of a news release from the U.S. Coast Guard:
(CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas) — A Coast Guard air crew from Sector/Air Station Corpus Christi conducted the first training evolution with a Signet Maritime Corp. tugboat Thursday in Corpus Christi Bay.
The Coast Guard MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew and the crew of Signet Polaris conducted hoist training as part of a new mutual training agreement between Sector/Air Station Corpus Christi and Signet Maritime Corp.
The training simulates hoisting an injured or sick person from the deck of a moving vessel onto a helicopter for transport to a higher level of medical care. A tugboat is a versatile platform, which can simulate hoisting from many different types of vessels.
“Today’s evolution was a significant step forward in improving our training capabilities,” said Cmdr. Marcus Canady, the air operations officer at Sector/Air Station Corpus Christi. “We thank Signet Maritime Corp. for their cooperation and look forward to many more opportunities for our aviation crews to hone their search and rescue skills and continue to serve South Texas.”
In the future, training with the tugboats will be expanded to incorporate HC-144 airplanes from Sector/Air Station Corpus Christi.
