Has Your Ship Rescued People At Sea?

At Amver we like to highlight the good work and lifesaving work done by our participants. One way we do that is by sharing your stories of saving lives at sea. We get that information from various sources. Often, we are notified by United States Coast Guard rescue personnel. Sometimes we hear directly from a ship. Other times we hear from a Flag state or read something in a maritime journal or newspaper.

In order to make it easier for you to report saving lives at sea we are reminding our participants they can report rescues on the Amver homepage. Simply click the orange button titled Rescue Report and fill out the details of your operation. This sends a report to the Amver office at the United States Coast Guard. Keep in mind this is NOT an official report and does not take the place of your requirements in accordance with the IAMSAR Manual or reporting to a Rescue Coordination Center.

We hope you will use this tool as a means to keep the Amver office up to date with your rescue operations. It gives us a better idea of how many people are rescued each year.

To the ships that have already started using this tool, thank you! We hope the rest of our Amver participants will consider using this tool as well.

Photo credit: Fotolia

Amver Participating Container Ship Saves Two

The Amver participating container ship London Express rescued two sailors from their disabled sailboat approximately 136 miles west of Havana, Cuba on Friday, September 2, 2022.

U.S. Coast Guard rescue authorities at the Seventh District Command Center were notified by satellite phone of 20-foot sailboat that had been disabled and adrift off Cuba since August, 28, 2022 and were low on supplies. The sailors requested assistance. The U.S. Coast Guard contacted their Cuban search and rescue partner and launched a search aircraft to locate the boat. 

Coast Guard rescue authorities also queried the Amver system and located the 964-foot London Express and requested the ship to divert and assist. The captain of the Bermuda-flagged ship stated he was only 30 minutes from the last known position of the sailboat and agreed to divert and help. Within an hour of being notified the Amver ship was alongside the sailboat and engaged in rescue operations. 

The crew of the London Express had favorable weather condition while performing the rescue with winds of only 15-knots and waves of three feet. "We have rescued the two sailors who are in good health and will disembark them at our next port call in Mexico," London Express captain Karthickraja emailed to the Coast Guard.

The London Express, managed by Hapag-Lloyd of Germany, enrolled in Amver on February 7, 1999 and has earned 15 Amver participation awards.

Photo credit: marinetraffic.com

Amver Awards Presented in Germany

German shipping representatives gathered in Hamburg, Germany at the Ubersee Club on the evening of Wednesday, September 7, 2022 to celebrate safety at sea and receive their United States Coast Guard Amver awards. The gathering was part of the larger SMM 2022, held biennially.

More than 340 ships earned awards by making themselves available to assist in search and rescue around the world. "We are so grateful we are able to gather in person and recognize the good work done by our shipping partners." stated Benjamin Strong, Amver Director. 

Mr. Jason Chue, United States Consul General Hamburg, reinforced the relationship between Hamburg, German shipping, and the United States. 

The event was made possible through the generous sponsorships from the American Bureau of Shipping, StormGeo, and Vikand. We are thankful for their continued support of Amver. 

Congratulations to all the recipients!

Photo credit: USCG photo by Beverly Howard