Coast Guard Airlifts Star Pride Passenger to San Juan Hospital
An MH-60T Jayhawk crew from Coast Guard Air Station Borinquen hoisted the passenger and a ship’s nurse, transporting them to Centro Medico in Rio Piedras.
The U.S. Coast Guard medically evacuated an 81-year-old passenger from Windstar Cruises’ 312-guest Star Pride on October 26, 2026, approximately 150 nautical miles north of Puerto Rico. The airlift followed two days of monitoring as the ship sailed toward San Juan.
Sector San Juan watchstanders received the urgent evacuation request at about 5 p.m. on October 24, when the vessel was roughly 900 nautical miles north of Puerto Rico. They remained in continuous contact with the ship over the weekend to monitor the passenger’s medical situation.
An MH-60T Jayhawk helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Borinquen launched at about 3 p.m. Monday to rendezvous with the vessel. The crew hoisted both the passenger and a ship’s nurse aboard, then transported the patient to Centro Medico Hospital in San Juan’s Rio Piedras district for further treatment. The passenger’s identity and medical condition have not been publicly disclosed.
A long-range airlift
The Coast Guard did not explain why it did not dispatch a helicopter immediately after receiving the request. At the ship’s initial position, however, it was beyond the Jayhawk’s published maximum range of approximately 700 nautical miles.
Its practical rescue reach is shorter. The Coast Guard describes a search-and-rescue mission profile involving a flight about 300 miles offshore, 45 minutes on scene, the hoisting of up to six people and a return flight with a fuel reserve.
“Air Station Borinquen and Sector San Juan train relentlessly to mitigate the risks associated with demanding Coast Guard missions like long-range medical evacuations,” said Cmdr. Scott Verhage, operations officer at Coast Guard Air Station Borinquen.
Borinquen crews have handled other cruise ship evacuations in the region. In September, a helicopter airlifted a 32-year-old Allure of the Seas crew member suffering severe abdominal pain approximately 50 nautical miles northwest of Puerto Rico, about five hours after the ship left San Juan. In 2024, the station also conducted an evacuation from Disney Fantasy approximately 180 nautical miles northwest of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico.
Star Pride’s voyage to San Juan
At the time of the evacuation, Star Pride was operating an eight-night Boston–San Juan cruise that departed October 20. That itinerary was also sold as the final portion of a 19-night voyage from Montreal, which began October 9.
No interruption to the cruise itinerary had been announced following the evacuation. Passengers were scheduled to disembark in San Juan on October 28.
