International Work Boat Show

We're not exhibiting at the International Work Boat Show in New Orleans this week but we'll be walking the floor, meeting some of our Amver participants, and looking for new ships to enroll in the Amver system.  Will you be at Work Boat 2010?  If so drop us a line. We'd love to meet you!

Photo credit: Maitri

Ice breaking- Finnish style!

Our friends at CGBlog recently posted a short piece showing off some great ice breakers.  One of their links led us to this amazing video of one of our partners in the Arctic Council  Emergency Prevention, Preparedness and Response working group (Amver participates on the working group).

So, without further adieu, here is a great video from the Finnish Maritime Authority showcasing ice breaking in the Gulf of Bothnia. Enjoy!  For more icebreaker photos check this out!



Can't see the video? Click here.

Greek Amver tanker rescues 2

Two American sailors experienced Greek hospitality first hand after they launched several distress flares and were rescued by the crew of the Amver participating tanker Triathlon.  The Triathlon witnessed the flares on November 21st while sailing near Bermuda in the Atlantic Ocean.  At approximately 2138 local time the bridge crew saw the flares and called Captain Glagaris Georgios to the bridge where he ordered all engines standby.  Within 10 minutes of seeing the flare Captain Georgios had a rescue team in the water heading to the stricken sailboat.





Captain Georgios was in contact with Rescue Coordination Center Bermuda and his vessel management as he maneuvered the 900 foot tanker to provide a lee for the sailboat and made a rescue attempt but had to break off the rescue because of high winds and large ocean swells.  A second attempt was tried but had to be aborted because the Triathlon could not get lines on the sailboat.  The third attempt was successful and the sailboat was able to make fast alongside the tanker.  Lowering the embarkation ladder, the Triathlon crew assisted the two sailors aboard the Greek flagged tanker and provided first aid, food, and water.  Thankfully the two survivors were unhurt.

Captain Georgios radioed rescue authorities in Bermuda and arranged to have a vessel meet the ship when it arrived at the pilot station in Bermuda.  After meeting the pilot boat and disembarking the survivors, the Triathlon made full away to its next port in Nigeria.





Thank you Captain Georgios and crew of the Triathlon for saving two lives!  Other ships can join this elite group of lifesavers by enrolling in Amver today.


Photo credit: Crew of the Triathlon

Happy Thanksgiving from Amver

Today we celebrate Thanksgiving in the United States.  In what has been declared the Year of the Seafarer we are thankful for you, our Amver participants.

Photo credit: Fotolia

Welcome Wednesday!

Is your ship listed below?  It's not?  Well get your ship enrolled now and you can be part of the only global voluntary search and rescue system.  Help us welcome the latest members of the Amver family.

• CRYSTAL TIGER
• CONTI SELENIT
• DUNG QUAT 2
• MARITIME FORTUNE
• MADARIN PHOENIX
• PACIFIC GREBE
• ORCHARD BULKER
• CSAV RIO BUENO
• TORM ALMENA 
• AKER WAYFARER
• STX ACACIA
• TIAN XIN
• KATSURAGISAN
• DRAWSKO
• UBC CANADA
• PERALTA
• OOCL SEOUL
• GANNET BULKER
• IJSSELBORG
• SALAMINA
• QUEEN ELIZABETH
• LIAMARE
• SANKO ODYSSEY
• TENSHU MARU
• SIVA MUMBAI
• FAR SUPPLIER
• PEACE VOYAGE
• ALPINE VENTURE

Thank you for taking the time to recognize safety and join the Amver safety network.  You made the right decision!


Photo credit: Fotolia

Rescue Update- voice mail & Amver to the rescue!

Could a voice message help save your life?  Couple your registered Personal Locator Beacon with some innovation and you have this, a personal message instructing rescuers how to find a vessel and sailor! Add an Amver ship and you have what just transpired near Christmas Island in the Pacific Ocean. 

A sailor in distress activated his properly registered beacon, an Amver ship was diverted by search and rescue authorities, and a United States Coast Guard C-130 air dropped a dewatering pump.  This all adds up to a sailor assisted and continuing on his journey.

The Amver participant Hoegh Kobe, pictured alongside the disabled sailboat, was first on the scene and passed fuel and other necessary equipment for the sailor to continue on his voyage.

Have you enrolled in Amver?  You could be helping us ensure no call, or voice mail, for help goes unanswered.

Photo credit: USCG photo

Two Singapore Amver ships assisting in separate resuces

Atlantic Amver Rescue

In the first case the Amver center received a message from the MTM Westport this weekend that they rescued two sailors, one German and one Brazilian, from their disabled sailboat.  The sailboat, the Knutt, was off the coast of Africa and dead in the water when the Hong Kong flagged tanker was requested to assist.

The MTM Westport, managed by MTM Ship management of Singapore, enrolled in the Amver system on February 28th, 2010.  The Master of the Westport reported both survivors were in good health.

Pacific Amver Rescue

The second case involves the Amver Ro/Ro Hoegh Kobe, a Singapore flagged automobile carrier, that responded to the a call from the United States Coast Guard 14th District rescue coordinators to divert and assist the 43 foot sailboat Currandera which was disabled approximately 240 miles North of Christmas Islands.  The Hoegh Kobe, managed by Hoegh Autoliners, has passed fuel to the Currandera and remains on scene in case the crew needs to abandon ship.

We will update the blog as we learn more about the Hoegh Kobe case.


Photo credit: both photos courtesy of marinetraffic.com.

Dutch Marines retake ship- Video

What does it look like when military forces retake your ship from pirates?  Just take a look at the video to see what happens.  Yes, those are real muzzle flashes and gunfire.  Thankfully the crew of the Taipan was released unharmed.

According to reports, the Dutch warship Tromp arrived on the scene, attempted to negotiate with the pirates, and finally stormed the ship freeing the crew and arresting the pirates.



Amver ships transiting pirate infested waters can follow these best practices (link to pdf) to avoid capture by pirates.

Can't see the video? Click here.

Related articles

• 10 alleged Somali pirates to be tried in Germany (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Take That: U.S. Marines Free German-Owned Ship From Pirates (chicagoraysrants.com)

Welcome Wednesday double edition!

You might be wondering what happened to the Welcome Wednesday post last week.  Between our attendance at an Arctic Council Emergency Prevention, Preparedness, and Response working group meeting and the fire aboard the Carnival Splendor, we were just too busy to post.  So this week you get a double dose of vessels.  Please help us welcome the newest members of the Amver system.

• LE BOREAL
• HOU RI 18
• ONEGO BILBAO
• E WHALE
• NEW LEGEND PEARL
• DESH MAHIMA
• GW BEYCHEVELLE
• HOU EI
• SEA ACE
• ESTHER C
• CMA CGM LA SCALA
• KOREAN LILY
• ARCTIC SEA
• SEAEAGLE
• KNOCK CLUNE
• HAMBURG TRADER
• E. R.  BUENOS AIRES
• BIBBY SAPHIRE
• CAPE FLATTERY
• MONEMVASIA
• ARGYLL
• WESTERN ISLAND
• IVORY POINT
• COSCO THAILAND
• GRAND CHINA
• ESPERANCE BAY
• COUGAR
• ALASKA BEAUTY
• BLEO HOLM
• YOUNG SPRING
• FLORIHNGRACHT
• MARE DI VENEZIA
• BELUGA FOUNDATION
• FEDERAL YUKINA
• EAGLE KLANG
• MAERSK HONOUR
• HOUYO
• STX ACE 11
• SAFMARINE BENGUELA
• CARMENCITA
• REGINA
• SWARNA JAYANTI
• ANNA-META
• ZOSCO HONGKONG
• CS CRYSTAL
• EMMA BULKER
• SKOLTEN
• BULL
• MATAR STAR
• GLENDA MELANIE
• TAMIAT NAVIGATOR
• SJN ORCAS
• BEN BADIS
• MARITIME CENTURY
• STRAIT OF DOVER
• APL BAHRAIN
• CCGC CAPE LAMBTON
• ANDREAS K
• POLARCUS NADIA
• ELISABETH SCHULTE
• APL HIBISCUS
• FALESIA
• SPRING EAGLE
• MORNING LADY
• E.R. BOURGOGNE
• PELLA
• OCEAN TITAN
• GREEN ISLAND
• U-SEA SASKATCHEWAN
• GREY PEARL
• VINASHIN LINER 2
• BROTONNE BRIDGE
• GLORY CHINA
• NEW ENERGY
• YUANNING SEA

Does enrolling in Amver really make a difference?  You bet it does.  In fact, the Amver on plot numbers have been above 4,000 ships 6 times this month alone.  Thank you.


Photo credit: Fotolia

How many ships are in the Arctic?

How many ships are in the Arctic?  That's a great question isn't it?  We're not aware of an accurate number of vessels sailing above 66 degrees latitude so we embarked on a rather unscientific study of our own.  Querying the Amver database of position reports, we plotted position reports for ships sailing in the Arctic for a 45 day period.  We discovered there were 3,940 reports!  Here is how they looks on a map.



While not inclusive of all vessel traffic in the Arctic, it certainly shows a significant number of ships and routes. More importantly, it should encourage search and rescue authorities to request Amver data when managing search and rescue cases in the Arctic.

If you want to know more about Amver and the Arctic you can read our previous Arctic related posts here and here.

Do your ships sail in Arctic waters? If so you should enroll in the Amver system.

Remembering Coast Guard Veterans

For those of you that may not know, the Amver program is managed by the United States Coast Guard. Having just celebrated Veterans, or Remembrance Day, last week we thought you would enjoy this video presentation of our Coast Guard shipmates in the Veteran's Day parade in New York City. Our friend Peter Mello and the Sea Fever blog alerted us to last years video while our shipmates at the Coast Guard Public Affairs Detachment New York released their latest video.  Have a look!



Can't see the video? Click here.

What is Amver?

Often people ask us to describe the Amver program.  Here is a short video highlighting what we do and some images of the people touched by the Amver system.  Want to learn more?  You can read the Amver fact sheet here.




Can't see the video? Click here.

Amver ship responds to Carnival Splendor fire

The Amver participating container ship Dresden Express was the first vessel on the scene of the Carnival Splendor fire the United States Coast Guard reported yesterday.

Additional Coast Guard cutters and aircraft, along with Mexican naval vessels, are also responding to assist.

The Carnival Splendor was 150 miles off the coast of San Diego.  The crew of the Splendor reported a fire in the aft engine room which they extinguished. 

The Panamanian flagged cruise ship was on a voyage to to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.  The latest update from Carnival can be found here.

Photo credit: Fotolia

Related articles

• No smooth sailing: Blaze sets cruise ship adrift (msnbc.msn.com)
• Engine room fire leaves cruise ship stranded (abclocal.go.com)
• Cruise ship disabled by engine fire being taken by tugboats to Ensenada (latimesblogs.latimes.com)

Welcome Wednesday!

It has been a busy time here at Amver.  The 2009 Amver awards should have arrived at your location by now.  Keep in mind these awards are distributed to your ship manager, so they may not have been distributed to your ship yet.  Over 5,000 awards were distributed this year.  Without the help of the entire Amver team- Beverly, Zana, and Vicky, they never would have been completed.  These hard working women deserve a hat tip from everyone.  We hope next year brings even more Amver award recipients. 

How will we reach that lofty goal?  Through the enrollment of more ships like the 31 that enrolled last week.  Please help us welcome these new lifesavers.

•          NAVIOS POLLUX           
•          CMA CGM CENDRILLON      
•          KEA                     
•          ROME TRADER             
•          CYAN PHOENIX            
•          KATSURA                 
•          C WHALE                 
•          MARIPOSA                
•          ORIENT TRANSIT          
•          HEROIC STRIKER          
•          TRITON                  
•          GREAT HEBEI             
•          ATTALLIA                
•          DORO                    
•          HERMANN S               
•          IAN M                   
•          DHL PACIFIC             
•          MARIA PRINCESS          
•          NORD PISCES             
•          TRES HOMBRES            
•          CHANGUINOLA I           
•          SVYATOGOR              
•          TAURUS                  
•          BLUE PACIFIC            
•          CAPE SAKURA             
•          TUJU ARROW              
•          MORNING LAURA           
•          ASIAN TOMORROW          
•          MOL MATRIX              
•          ASIA BRAVE              
•          CSC AUSPICIOUS     

Thank you for helping ensure no call for help goes unanswered.  Your participation helps save lives.

Photo credit: Fotolia    

Amver home page maintenance

The Amver home page will be down for maintenance on Saturday November 6th from 08:00 to 14:00 Eastern Time.

Search and Rescue authorities requiring Amver SURPIC information should contact:
Atlantic Area SAR Coordinator
Portsmouth, Virginia
(757)398-6700 

We apologize for the inconvenience. 

Photo credit: Fotolia

Amver exhibiting at the USCG Innovation Expo

If you are near the Tampa, FL area for the next 3 days come by the Tampa Convention Center and say hello to the Amver staff.  We are exhibiting at the United States Coast Guard Innovation Expo put on by NDIA.  The Expo runs from November 2nd to the 4th.

If you can't make it down to the Expo you can still participate virtually.  The Twitter hash tag is #cginnovate.  Simply plug that into Twitter Search and it will show you everyone that is Tweeting from the event.   Use the same hash tag for Flickr and YouTube to see what else is going on at the Expo.

You can also see the presentations  in real time on Ustream. 
If you're in Tampa, Amver is in booth 911.  See you there!