In a press release on Sunday the Brazilian Coast Guard reported that the Search and Rescue operation was executed by, medical evacuation of a passenger on board a cruise ship "Marco Polo". The Salvamar East had received, at about 11 am yesterday, a distress call from the "Marco Polo", sailing about 50 km east of the archipelago of Abrolhos, bound for Salvador, stating that the passenger James Charles Mottram, 81, a British national, had symptoms of heart attack.

After brief assessment, the ship was redirected to the nearby city of Ilheus, where soldiers from the Police of the Port Authority in Ilheus arranged the evacuation of the passenger.

From the moment the Brazilian Coast Guard was contacted, until the arrival of the Islanders, a cardiologist at the Naval Salvador Hospital was put in contact with the ship's doctor, in order to contribute to the assessment of the case and the monitoring of his health.