The U.S. Navy's New $3 Billion Stealth Destroyer, PCU Zumwalt (DDG 1000), Rescues Fisherman at Sea

The future USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) got underway for the first time this week conducting at-sea tests and trials in the Atlantic Ocean Dec. 7, 2015. U.S. Navy Photo

The crew aboard the U.S. Navy’s newest and most technologically advanced destroyer came to the rescue of an ailing fisherman off the coast of Maine on Saturday.

The U.S. Coast Guard says it received a distress call at approximately 3 a.m. Saturday from a 45-foot fishing boat named Danny Boy stating that the captain was experiencing chest pains and was in need of medical assistance while about 40 nautical miles southeast of Portland, Maine.

A Coast Guard helicopter was launched to medevac the patient, but once on scene the aircrew determined the hoist too dangerous due to the configuration of Danny Boy’s deck.

Coast Guard Sector Northern New England issued an urgent marine information broadcast requesting assistance from nearby vessels. It just so happens that the future USS Zumwalt, a more than $3 billion stealth destroyer under construction at Bath Iron Works in Maine, was in the area and offered assistance.

Zumwalt launched a small boat crew and transferred the injured captain to the destroyer, where an air crew successfully hoisted the man and transported him to a hospital on land.

“Our main concern with this type of medical emergency is to recover the patient safely and transport them to a higher level care as quickly as possible,” said Lt. David Bourbeau, public affairs officer at Sector Northern New England. “Fortunately the Zumwalt was operating in the area and was able to provide valuable assistance to facilitate a safe hoist evolution for the rescue crew.”

Here is some video of the medevac: