HIP Mooloolaba - looking after yachtsmen and fishermen at sea
Most people know Mooloolaba as a popular tourist destination on the Sunshine Coast, but you may not know that Mooloolaba is home to one of the largest fishing fleets in Australia and that a large number of private yachts and other vessels are visiting or based there at any one time.
HIP Mooloolaba, owned by Doug Roberts (pictured) and Mario Barbagallo, has developed a specialisation in supplying medical and pharmaceutical kits for use at sea. These kits range from small boxes or packs for smaller boats right up to large containers for larger boats that spend up to 60 days at sea. Some larger vessels are equipped with medical facilities to rival small land-based clinics, with an ability to perform minor operations at sea, and so need medical and pharmacy supplies to match. HIP Mooloolaba has an ‘authority to supply ships’ masters’ and so is able to advise marine customers as to what they are legally required to carry in terms of medical supplies and what supplies they would be advised to carry.
In economic terms it makes sense for a commercial vessel to carry a correctly stocked medical kit - if a minor injury occurs at sea and the vessel needs to return to harbour it can cost thousands of dollars in lost revenue - in one incident the lack of a suture kit forced a captain to abandon a fishing trip which cost him an estimated $21,000.
Doug explains "We started offering this service when the longline tuna fishing industry began to expand about ten years ago. Since then we have built up a reputation for offering this specialist service and now provide medical kits to vessels from around Australia and from overseas.”
12.06.08
