When the Seabourn Pursuit arrived at Chile’s Robinson Crusoe Island in the Juan Fernández Islands on April 4, it brought more than guests ashore, the company said in a press release.

For local residents, the ship could now provide access to much needed medical care that had been unavailable to them for months.

“Seabourn Pursuit had the opportunity to give back to a community we visit,” said Dr. Nicolaas van der Merwe, senior doctor on the Seabourn Pursuit.

Robinson Crusoe Island is a remote inhabited island in the South Pacific, approximately 500 miles west of Santiago, Chile, and has been without a functioning X-ray machine since February this year.

With no local imaging capability, residents that required diagnostic X-rays had to travel hundreds of miles to the mainland.

Ahead of the ship’s scheduled call, local health officials formally requested assistance to address the growing backlog of patients in need of diagnostic imaging.

“It was a privilege to work alongside the local medical team, and the gratitude from patients and families is something our crew will always remember.” van der Merwe said.

The Seabourn Pursuit’s onboard medical team conducted X-ray exams for island residents ranging in age from four to 71 and the images were read by Seabourn’s telemedicine partner, HealthcareLive.

This enabled local doctors to then move forward with diagnoses and treatment plans that had been previously delayed for months.