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The man at first refused to be taken off the ship by helicopter, but agreed to be taken ashore by sea and the Tynemouth RNLI crew were scrambled.
Sea conditions were very bad with strong northerly winds, a tidal surge and a swell of one to five metres, the RNLI crew said.
Conditions worsened after two RNLI crew members got on board to treat him, so the coastguard rescue helicopter was then called in from Humberside Airport, arriving at 4.18pm.