The captain of a tanker owned by Greece's Minerva Marine was rescued by the Portuguese Air Force (FAP) on Saturday.
The 47-year-old a Greek national was described as being in "a very serious clinical condition", according to a statement from FAP on Sunday.
The man was at work onboard the aframax Minerva Gloria (built 2009), which was underway in the Atlantic at the time of the evacuation.
The FAP said the rescue took place in "very adverse" weather conditions, with 12-metre-high waves and wind speeds of 74 kmph, 420 km southwest of Terceira Island in the Azores archipelago.
The captain was rescued successfully and transported to John Paul II Airport in Ponta Delgada in the Azores, from where he was sent to the city's Divino Espírito Santo Hospital, FAP said.
Helicopters took just 20 minutes to evacuate the captain from the tanker, which was located four hours away by air from the military air base on Terceira Island.
Footage of the rescue (below) shows the captain was able to walk unassisted to the stretcher for evacuation; later, video shows a drip being attached to the man's arm.
TradeWinds has contacted Minerva Marine for an update on the man's condition.
</p>
