162 Somali Refugees Rescued By Amver Tanker

The maritime weekly newspaper Tradewinds reported this morning that the Overseas Shipholding Group (OSG) tanker Overseas Primar, a 39,000 dwt Handysize tanker, rescued 162 Somali migrants including an eight month pregnant woman and a 12 year old child.

Tradedwinds reported Malta's Rescue Coordination Center received a distress call from the wooden boat Sunday morning. Other vessels, including the bulker SLH Venus, joined the search for the distress vessel.

The crew of the Overseas Primar originally thought they would be encountering 18 refugees but those numbers climbed as the tanker approached the ship. Once all the survivors were aboard the OSG tanker the crew provided medical attention, clothing, and food.

The Overseas Primar remains anchored off Malta waiting for rough weather to pass to Maltese officials can board the ship and accept the refugees.

The Overseas Primar has been an Amver participant since January, 1988 and has earned over 14 awards for participation.

We will provide updates as they arrive.

Congratulations COSCO!

A recent press release from the Connecticut Maritime Association (disclaimer: Amver is a member) announced Capt. Wei Jiafu, president and CEO of China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company (COSCO) has been named as the Connecticut Maritime Association (CMA) Commodore for the year 2009.

The Award will be presented to Capt. Wei on March 25, 2009 at the Gala Dinner marking the conclusion of the annual Connecticut Maritime Association conference and trade exposition where Amver will be exhibiting at booth G104.

COSCO is no stranger to Amver. In April of 1996, the Chinese container ship GAO HE rescued a retired U.S. Navy captain from his stricken sailing vessel in the Pacific. In fact, The People's Republic of China has 368 flagged vessels enrolled in Amver although not all are active participants. COSCO is one of the largest shipping companies in the world. Imagine if every COSCO ship actively participated in the Amver system. Think of how many more lives might be saved because of COSCO's commitment to safety.

Capt. Wei is an experienced mariner and probably familiar with the value of Amver. I encourage him to have the entire COSCO fleet actively participating in Amver in 2009 and invite Capt. Wei to visit the Amver stand while attending the conference.

Final Vendee Globe Update

Our friends at Tradewinds posted this great video coverage of the rescue of Jean Le Cam yesterday on webTV.

Watch and enjoy!

French Yachtsman Update

Vende Globe organizers announced late Tuesday that French yachtsman Jean Le Cam was able to get out from under his capsized sailboat and was hoisted rescued by fellow racer Vincent Riou.

A rescue update can be found here and a related article on keeping your cool in extreme situations can be found here.

Chilean rescue forces, along with the Amver vessel Sonagol Kassenje, were released as Riou and Cam sail to Ushuaia.

Amver Tanker Dispatched To Rescue French Yachtsman

Vendee Globe organizers lost all communications with French yachtsman Jean Le Cam after his sailboat capsized 200 miles off the coast of Cape Horn early Tuesday morning. An international effort, including a tanker dispatched by the Amver system, was underway to rescue the sailor.

Search and rescue authorities from Chile, France, and the United States Coast Guard Amver system are working together to coordinate the rescue. Chilean authorities dispatched a rescue aircraft and, using data from the United States Coast Guard Amver program, requested the Bahamian flagged oil tanker Sonagol Kassenje to Cam's last known position.

Winds greater than 25 knots prevented the tanker crew from lowering their rescue boat. The Sonagol Kassenje, managed by Sonagol, remains on scene waiting for safer weather conditions. Cam remains trapped in the overturned hull of his sailboat but has been able to communicate with fellow racer Vincent Riou.

Photo credit: MRCC Chile

How Do You Enroll A Ship In Amver?

We are often asked how to enroll a ship in the Amver system. The entire process is simple and easy and can be completed by the crew or operations department of the shipping company.

Amver enrollment is completed using the search and rescue questionnaire found on the Amver website.

Once a vessel is enrolled, the crew can immediately begin reporting following the instructions in the Amver Ship Reporting Manual.

Because Amver awards are calculated each calendar year now is the perfect time to enroll and begin reporting.

Stop procrastinating and sign up your ship today! We look forward to welcoming you.

Happy New Year

The Amver staff is eager to wish everyone a happy and prosperous 2009!

While not one for resolutions we still believe goals should be set for the coming year. Chris Brogan, social media guru, wrote an interesting post where he described choosing three keywords that "... tie to goals and work from that."

Taking Mr. Brogan's lead Amver's three words for 2009 are:

Write

Learn

Thank

What are your three words for 2009?