A container ship is being diverted to Bermuda after reporting a medical emergency, Bermuda Maritime Operations has confirmed.

At about 3.50pm today, the master of the MV Northern Dexterity contacted RCC Bermuda requesting a helicopter evacuation of a 39-year-old male crew member suffering from shingles.

The ship, which is registered in Liberia, West Africa, was 700 nautical miles east north east of Bermuda en route from Europe to Charleston, South Carolina.

RCC Bermuda consulted with the United States Coast Guard in Norfolk, Virginia, and it was decided to divert the vessel to Bermuda so that the sick Filipino national could be transferred via pilot boat to shore and then on to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.

The ship is due to arrive in Bermuda on Sunday at 8am.