HOUSTON, March 21, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Bristow U.S. LLC  today announced that it has been awarded a contract with Shell Offshore, Inc., a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell (Shell), for medevac and search and rescue (SAR) services in the Gulf of Mexico.

"We are drawing on our years of experience of safely and efficiently operating SAR around the world to deliver the highest standard of rescue service and medical care in the Gulf of Mexico," said Bristow Americas Regional Director Samantha Willenbacher. "With our rescue fleet, all parts of the Gulf of Mexico are within reach of this lifesaving service." 

As part of the contract, Shell will also join the new SAR consortium formed by Bristow, which aims to provide unrivaled service and lifesaving capability to members while simultaneously reducing overall costs associated with SAR.

Bristow will deploy a dedicated state-of-the-art Sikorsky S-92 and a Leonardo AW139 to provide SAR response services. An advanced dispatch system staffed by registered EMTs will provide pre-arrival medical instructions over the phone and efficiently prioritize and manage response efforts in the event that multiple, simultaneous call-outs are received.

Bristow will operate the new service from its standalone SAR facility at the South Lafourche Airport in Galliano, Louisiana.

Editor's notes

• Since 1971, Bristow has flown more than 65,000 SAR operational hours and conducted more than 20,100 SAR missions, during which more than 10,700 people have been rescued by our crews and helicopters worldwide.
• Under the terms of the new contract, Bristow will provide full medevac and SAR coverage to Shell for deep water operations in the Gulf of Mexico.
• Bristow's Sikorsky S-92 dedicated to this service is the only all weather heavy SAR aircraft capable of reaching ultra deep water rigs and installations in the Gulf of Mexico.
• The Sikorsky S-92 is designed to respond quickly in the event of multiple-casualty situations.
• Bristow's state of the art emergency dispatch system employs nationally registered EMTs and certified with the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch.

About Bristow
Bristow U.S. LLC  is a subsidiary of Bristow Group Inc., the leading provider of global industrial aviation services offering helicopter transportation, search and rescue (SAR) and aircraft support services, including maintenance and training, to government and civil organizations worldwide.  Bristow and its affiliates have operations in Australia, Brazil, Canada, North Sea, Nigeria, the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, Russia and Trinidad, and in most of the other major offshore oil and gas producing regions of the world. Bristow provides SAR services to the private sector worldwide and to the public sector for all of the U.K. on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. For more information, visit bristowgroup.com.

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SOURCE Bristow Group