Welcome Wednesday!

Our first week back from NEVA and we can see the dividends of our international marketing efforts. What is NEVA? You can learn more about our participation in Russia's largest maritime exhibition here. 36 vessels have enrolled in the Amver system in the past week. Help us recognize those vessels willing to ensure no call for help goes unanswered.

• MALU EXPLORER
• YORK
• STAR KILIMANJARO
• MINERVA SOPHIA
• HUA CHENG
• GERK MAERSK
• JATIANOM PB 400
• MOL EMINENCE
• GL LA PAZ
• GLOBAL HARMONY
• ELBTANK FRANCE
• FAIR SEAS
• GIFTED
• NORTHERN DIPLOMAT
• LUCKY SUNDAY
• ICE MOON
• TANGGUH SAGO
• OUR LADY OF FATIMA
• ZHONGJI NO. 1
• RIO BRAVO
• SANKO INNOVATOR
• METLEMI
• APL COLORADO
• RIKUCHU MARU #15
• BULK MONACO
• NYK PAULA
• GUSTAV SCHULTE
• OUR LADY OF FATIMA (yup, there are two of them with different IMO numbers!)
• HAKO JEWEL
• CLASS VICTORIA
• WU YI HAI
• GAO CHENG 1
• HONG KONG BRIDGE
• HONG YU
• JINDAL KAMAKSHI
• V-ROD

Will one of these ships be involved in a rescue at sea? It's possible. The important thing is that these vessels, crews, and companies recognize the need for a coordinated rescue effort. Have you enrolled your ships yet?

Photo credit: Fotolia

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Amver Participating LNG Carrier Rescues Four

While sailing on a routine voyage to South Korea the Malaysian flagged LNG carrier Seri Bijaksana heard cries for help from the sea, reported Tradewinds. The LNG carrier, an Amver participant since 2008, rescued the four fishermen after they ran out of fuel off the coast of the Philippines. They were reportedly adrift for three days.

The crew of the Seri Bijaksana handed the survivors over to the Philippine Coast Guard.

Bravo Zulu to the master and crew of the Seri Bijaksana for a job well done and in keeping with the highest traditions of mariner helping mariner.

Has your ship recently rescued survivors? Why not let us know about it and see the story on the Amver blog!

Photo credit: shipspotting.com

NEVA 2009 Amver Wrap Up

Well, NEVA 2009 has come to a close. What an incredible four days of shipping, ship education, ship building and almost anything else related to shipping. Amver hosted an awards ceremony in Russia and had a successful meeting with the Russian Maritime Registry of Shipping.

We would like to single out Dolphin Exhibitions for making our participation in Russia such a success. A huge thank you is extended to Roderick Keay and his team. Thanks Rod!



What did you find most useful at NEVA?

Day 3 at NEVA with Amver

Amver has finished day 3 of NEVA. More networking, talking to interested parties, and recruiting ships. The final day will give Amver an opportunity to present Amver awards to the Vega JSC company of Murmansk.

Association For Rescue At Sea Amver Award

The Association for Rescue At Sea held their annual awards ceremony in Washington, D.C. on September 23, 2009. The ceremony recognizes heroic actions by United States Coast Guard active duty and Auxiliary members along with an award for a dramatic Amver rescue. This year did not disappoint.

The winner of the Amver award was the tanker Parthenon for their dramatic rescue of four Swedish sailors in late 2008 off the coast of Portugal. Read more about the dramatic rescue here and watch the rescue below. The footage is courtesy of the crew of the Parthenon, a Tsakos Group owned tanker. Captain Theo Vassilakis received the award on behalf of the Parthenon crew.

The story of the other AFRAS award winners is available on the United States Coast Guard Office of Search and Rescue Blog.

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NEVA Day 2

Russian shipping is in the news for more than just the NEVA 2009 Exhibition. Reports surfaced today that a Russian tanker avoided a pirate attack in the Gulf of Aden. According to the crew of the Prisco Alexandra, pirates fired on the tanker and attempted to board it when the crew issued a distress alert and began taking evasive maneuvers. The pirates were never able to board or gain control of the ship.

Amver was happy to host several cadets from the Admiral Makarov State Maritime Academy. The cadets were eager to learn about Amver and how they can work Amver into their curriculum.

Visit Amver in hall 7 stand 733.

Here is a short video of the days events.

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Welcome Wednesday!

Greetings from NEVA 2009 in St. Petersburg, Russia. After a successful first day at the exhibition, including a presentation on Arctic search and rescue and an Amver awards ceremony (see a recap of the day here), it's time to bring you the latest members of the Amver team. Besides this exciting networking opportunity Amver was pleased to learn a new member ship rescued 13 people off the coast of Africa this week. Now let's welcome vessels enrolled in the last week:

• JOAN
• RIGEL
• DIONYSOS LEADER
• AQUAGEM
• SEDEF KALKAVAN
• PETER FABER
• ORIENTAL RUBY
• CLIPPER KAMOSHIO
• S_V AUSTRALIS
• EXPRESS
• INDIC
• FAIRCHEM BRIDGE
• ARCTIC FLOUNDER
• PROCIDA
• ORE VITORIA
• SONGA OPAL
• LOWLANDS SKY
• GLOBAL BAY
• FALKANGER
• ANANGEL ARGONAUT
• ENDEAVOR
• PACIFIC FREEDOM
• NORDIC AGNETHA
• MARIANNE
• RIO

We hope our meeting with the Russian Registry will lead to greater participation by Russian ships.


Photo credit: Fotolia

Amver at NEVA 2009 Opening Day

NEVA 2009 is open! Amver was pleased to present a paper on Arctic search and rescue and host, along with the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping, a Russian Amver Awards ceremony.

If you didn't have a chance to visit NEVA this year take a peek at our short video for a taste of all things NEVA.



Are you visiting the exposition? Come by the Amver booth at Lenexpo Hall 7, stand 733.

Amver Ship Rescues 13

Tradewinds recently reported the Panamanian flagged bulk carrier Nord Explorer rescued 13 crew from the vessel Pacific, which sank off the coast of Gabon. The Nord Explorer enrolled in the Amver system in January.

According to reports, the Pacific was sailing from Cameroon to Pointe Noir when its engine room flooded and the vessel sank. Its distress call was heard by the German Maritime Rescue Coordination Center which diverted the Nord Explorer.

The Nord Explorer was on the scene within two hours of being diverted and successfully rescued all 13 crew from the Pacific.

Photo credit: Fotolia

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Amver Presentation at Gov 2.0 Expo Showcase

Earlier this month Amver presented at the Gov 2.0 Expo Showcase in Washington, DC. If you weren't able to attend the event we have posted the presentation below.



Have you used the online Surface Picture request form? What were the results?

Video courtesy of Gov 2.0 Expo Showcase

Everything Arctic

It seems there is no shortage of articles and opinions about global warming, shipping, and how that relates to the Arctic. In fact, Amver's boss, United States Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thad Allen recently provided a nice round up of Arctic links in the trip synopsis of his northern visit.

Amver is no stranger to writing about the Arctic. Whether it be suggestions we have for Arctic search and rescue or an interview with an Arctic shipping expert, we have covered the Arctic many times.

Recently, however, the New York Times featured a story about the Beluga Group and their success using the Northern Sea Route to move fuel between Russian ports. Beluga is no stranger to Amver with many of their ships enrolled in the system.

As we prepare for our trip to NEVA, and an Amver awards ceremony in Russia, we hope the increased focus on Arctic shipping will spur greater participation in Amver by ice class vessels or those transiting polar waters.

Do you think shipping will increase in the Arctic Ocean?

Photo credit: uploaded to Flickr by Alaskan Librarian

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Welcome Wednesday!

While Amver prepares for the upcoming NEVA exhibition we don't have a lot of time to write incredible prose on why you should enroll your ship. Instead, follow the example of thees ships:

• AZUL LAGENDA
• KEMBLA II
• BUDI MESRA DUA
• DANCING BRAVE
• MINERAL NINGBO
• BULK NEPTUE
• YUYO SPIRITS
• KURPIE
• PB COOK
• MARUBA AFRICA
• DELTA HARMONY
• GLENDA MEGAN
• PHILIPPINE EXPRESS
• W-O EMOCEAN
• LYGRA
• ITAL MELODIA
• TORM LILLY
• BRASILIA HIGHWAY
• ALPINE ETERNITY
• SUMMIT AFRICA
• PARAPOLA
• BOURBON LIBERTY 203
• SILVER EXPRESS
• ATLANTIC HOLLYHOCK
• GUARD CELENA
• COASTAL EXPRESS-1
• MANISTEE
• MARITIME CHAMPION
• TORM PACIFIC
• DEEPWATER DISCOVERY
• FERNANDINA
• SINCERITY ACE
• SCYTHIA GRARCA
• MARZHAN
• MANDARIN FORTUNE
• ATLANTA
• PROUD
• AZURE
• CMA CGM BELLINI
• LIBERTY PRIDE
• MCT STOCKHORN
• MAERSK BRATAN
• MARCO

It's great to see so many vessels enroll in the Amver system. Even better would be to see a surge of enrollments while we are at NEVA. There are many Russian Federation ships that could enroll and add to Amver's capacity to save lives.

Photo credit: Fotolia

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Twitter + Disney + Amver = Lives Saved

Well it's happened again. Another search and rescue case has been captured on Twitter. This time, however, an Amver ship was involved in the rescue. What happened?

Several days ago the cruise ship Disney Wonder, an Amver participant, was steaming back to Florida when they rescued a passenger that had gone overboard from a Carnival ship. Twitter user BigHeadDennis happened to see the rescue and Tweeted the message you see to the right. You can read the full story here.

Hats off to the master and crew of the Disney Wonder and to Gary Burke from the United States Coast Guard Operations Systems Center who alerted us to the case. Thanks Gary!

Have you Tweeted a rescue case on a cruise?

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Recent Arctic Rescue Underscores Need For Amver

The United States Coast Guard 17th District reported yesterday that Coast Guard authorities coordinated the rescue of an ill passenger aboard the cruise ship Bremen in the Arctic Ocean on Thursday, September 3, 2009.

The Bremen, owned by Hapag Lloyd Cruise, has been an Amver participant since 1991.  The Bahamian flagged vessel often sails in the Arctic and Antarctica.  By making itself available to Amver it adds to the safety of vessels and crews transiting these austere areas.  Earlier this year we wrote five recommendations about how Amver could be used in the Arctic.  Hopefully this incident, and our recommendations, can serve as a reminder of the need for Amver vessels in the Polar regions.  

We strongly encourage ice class vessels enroll in the Amver system.  Companies such as Fednav have taken the lead and enrolled their entire fleet.  Do you have ice class vessels in your fleet?  Have you enrolled them in Amver?

Photo credit: Fotolia

Amver Is Speaking At The Gov 2.0 Expo Showcase

Benjamin Strong, Director of Amver Maritime Relations, will be speaking at the Gov 2.0 Expo Showcase in Washington, DC on September 8, 2009. The topic, Government as a protector, includes examples of how Amver shares vessel data with international rescue coordination centers to help in search and rescue cases.

If you have an interest in new media, government use of new media, or how technology is changing the face of government then this lead in to the Gov 2.0 Summit is for you.

Are you coming to the Expo? If so make sure you say hello to Benjamin. You can also watch for Twitter updates by following Gov 2.0 or watching for hashtag #gov20.

Welcome Wednesday! x2

Since we were away from the office last week you may have noticed we didn't publish our usual Welcome Wednesday post.  This week's feature includes new vessels enrolled during the previous two weeks.  So without further delay we welcome the latest members of the Amver safety network:

• FALKANGER
• HERMANN HESSE
• MANDARIN ATLAS
• NOBLE DANNY ADKINS
• CAPE GARLAND
• HYUNDAI SHANGHAI
• CSAV LUMACO
• ATLANTIC DIANA
• ZIM DJIBOUTI
• OVERSEAS MINDORO
• BOSPOROUS HIGHWAY
• OLIVA
• PELICANA
• JAMES COOK
• YUAN PING SEA
• OCEAN SPRINGS
• SAKARA LOTUS
• PACIFIC DUCHESS
• CHEMICAL SUPPLIER
• ANGOR
• SUNRISE MIYAJIMA
• KOTA LAGU
• BRITTA THERESA
• G.L. OSTRANDER
• W-O DJAM
• CAECILIE BULKER
• MARIDA MALLOW
• W-O CHOKDEE
• ORABELT
• W-O SEREFE
• W-O JAMAS
• SESOK
• ALASKA TROJAN
• KRISTIN D
• GLOBAL CHALLENGE
• PACIFIC GLORY
• LEVANTO
• NORD SHANGHAI
• OPAL ADVANCE
• ORAROSE
• BBC MISSISSIPPI
• BENIT AMOU
• SANKO BARON
• HYUNDAI GLORY
• NORD TOKYO
• ZENOVIA LADY
• MARIDA MIMOSA
• MARIDA MELISSA
• SEACOR COUGAR
• C. VISION
• GULF CORAL
• STIM STAR ANGOLA
• MIN LU
• PORT KELANG
• MARIDA MARIGOLD
• MERSINI
• ORIENT VENUS
• GASCHEM NORDSEE
• JIA HUA
• OMODOS
• LIBRA SANTA CATARINA
• W-O BAREV
• HAMBURG BRIDGE
• TILOS
• OOCL BRISBANE
• VALERIA DELLA GATTA
• IMPERATOR
• BATTERSEA

The James Cook, enrolled last week, was involved in a rescue of an Atlantic ocean rower.  You never know, you could be called next.

Photo credit: Fotolia

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