Welcome Wednesday

Another week, another list of new ships that joined Amver this week. In various forms, this feature has been a constant part of Amver history since the Amver program was established in 1958. It's important to recognize good acts, even those that largely go unnoticed by the rest of the world. The dedication to safety at sea by these crews and their shoreside colleagues doesn't go unnoticed by the United States Coast Guard. Thank you for helping ensure no call for help goes unanswered.

• MARAN GAS MARSEILLE
• JIH YU NO. 968
• JIH YU NO. 668
• JIH YU NO. 868
• JIH YU NO. 168
• JIH YU NO. 568
• ULTRA VIRTUE
• GOLDEN JOHN

Photo credit: Fotolia

Welcome Wednesday

It's been a busy week at Amver with several new participants. We enjoy bringing you this feature of the ships enrolled in Amver. We are particularly excited to see the growth of Amver in Taiwan. If you aren't participating, please consider signing up today. In the meantime, help us welcome the latest Amver participants.

• MING MAN
• SHUENN MAN NO. 626
• SHUENN MAN NO. 273
• SHUENN MAN NO. 100
• SHUENN MAN NO. 23
• SPITSBERGEN
• HE MAN H
• BOW OLYMPUS
• ORION JESSICA
• CL XIANGXI
• NORTH GAS

Photo credit: Fotolia

Welcome Wednesday

If one thing is certain it's that shipping has continued during and after the pandemic. We are thankful for the countless seafarers who have endured long tours at sea, time away from family, and limited shore leave or time off. The dedication of seafarers is what helped get us through the pandemic and through to the other side. We recognize things may not be the way they were, but one thing has remained constant; ships continue to commit to safety at sea and enroll in Amver. Here is the list of the latest ships that joined Amver this week.

• MEGHINA HOPE
• UBUNTO HUMANITY

Photo credit: Fotolia

Cruise Ships Earn Amver Awards

The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) recently hosted an Amver Awards presentation during their Special Session of the Maritime Safety and Marine Environmental Matters Committee meeting in Washington, DC on October 12, 2022.

Amver Awards were presented to Carnival, Celebrity, Disney, Holland America, MSC, Norwegian Cruise Line, and Royal Caribbean.  "More than 100 cruise ships earned Amver awards," said Amver Director Benjamin Strong. "That is more than 100 resources available for search and rescue from the North Pole to the South Pole," added Strong.

Many thanks to Jennifer Willians, CLIA Vice President for Maritime Policy, for providing a venue to present the Amver Awards. We look forward to continuing the strong relationship between our cruise industry Amver participants and CLIA and look forward to presenting even more awards in 2023!

Photo credit: CLIA photo

Amver Participating Cruise Ship Saves Six

On a recent voyage from Tampa, Fla. to Cozumel, Mexico the Amver participating cruise ship Carnival Paradise rescue six people from a rustic vessel.

As evident in the video by passengers, the migrants were in a makeshift boat that resembled a large dresser or wooden box.

Can't see the video?  Click here.

The Carnival Paradise enrolled in Amver on November 2, 1998 and has earned 21 Amver participation awards. The migrants were handed over to authorities when the vessel docked in Tampa. We congratulate the crew of the Carnival Paradise for a job well done!

Video credit: It's A Salty Life via YouTube

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