UPDATE: Greek Amver ship rescues fishermen

Bravo Zulu to Captain Barakas and the crew of the Greek Diana Shipping managed bulker Semirio, for a job well done in this week's recent rescue of several fishermen. The other day we reported 10 fishermen were rescued, the correct number is nine. The Semirio is a Marshall Island flagged vessel.

Thanks to the Navy aircraft and our partners at U.S. Coast Guard Sector Guam for helping coordinate this case.

Here are some photos of the rescue operation showing just how dangerous the situation was for the fishermen 700 miles from land.







Photo credit: (Official U.S. Navy photo/Released)

Greek Amver ship rescues 10 fishermen

Ten fishermen were rescued by the Amver participating cargo ship Semirio on Saturday April 21, 2012 700 miles west of Guam after their boat caught fire and they were forced to abandon ship.

The 70 foot Taiwanese fishing boat Hsin Man Chun alerted the U.S. Coast Guard with their Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) while their sister ship called rescue authorities in Taipei, China to alert them the vessel was on fire.

A Navy P-3 Orion long-range search aircraft from Patrol Squadron 1 stationed at Kadena Air Base, Japan, overflew the vessel and reported eight crewmembers in a life raft and two more on the bridge of the burning vessel. The P-3 crew deployed two life rafts to assist the crew members that remained behind.

The Marshall Island flagged ship was only 40 miles away from the distress location when it was alerted by the U.S. Coast Guard of the situation and diverted to assist. Once on scene, the 950-foot bulk carrier launched a small boat and successfully rescued all 10 crew members. The Semirio is one of over 20,000 vessels enrolled in the Amver System. The Semirio is managed by Diana Shipping of Athens, Greece and has earned numerous Amver awards for participation.

Photo credit: marinetraffic.com

Vote for Amver?

This year the Amver blog has the distinct pleasure of being nominated for a MilBloggie award in the Coast Guard category.

If you want to show your support and help us win this honor, please vote here.

Thank you!

Photo credit: Fotolia

Welcome Wednesday!

This past week another steady stream of ships enrolled in the Amver system, ensuring no call for help goes unanswered. Last week there was plenty of talk about search and rescue, on the heels of the Leadership in the Arctic conference at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and the commemoration of Titanic sinking.

Thankfully, Amver helps fill the SAR gap in the Arctic and beyond. In fact, there was another record number of ships available to save lives at sea. On April 15, 2012 there were 5,396 ships on the Amver plot, the highest number ever. Thank you.

Now help us welcome the newest member of the Amver safety network.

• ALGOMA MARINER
• ANARITA
• CHAMPION PRINCESS
• CORAL AMBER
• EURASIAN HIGHWAY
• FRONTIER SKY
• INGWAR SELMER
• K SPINEL
• LAN MAY
• LOWLANDS BEACON
• MEGA STAR
• NISSOS SANTORINI
• OCEAN VENUS
• PAC AQUARIUS
• PAC ARIES
• PACIFIC ENDURANCE
• PRETTY LAMB
• RBD GINO FERRETTI
• RYOGA
• SAKIZAYA WISDOM
• STX TOPAZ
• TURTLE BAY
• TWINKLE ISLAND
• VALE DONGJIAKOU
• VINJERAC
• VISHVA VIKAS
• ZAKHER SUPPLIER

Don't forget to check out the Amver podcast, The Quarterdeck!

Photo credit: Fotolia

Amver ships assists in rescue on Titanic anniversary

The Amver system was founded 54 years ago as a direct result of the Titanic disaster.

On Sunday, April 15, 2012- 100 years after the Titanic went down in the Atlantic- another emergency was unfolding. A sailboat with three French yachtsmen was in distress, and the Amver participating  Russian tanker Moscow Sea was among the many resources steaming to help.

The Spanish fishing vessel Generoso Tercero was identified by the aircrew during the aircraft's transit from St. John's, Newfoundland, and was diverted to rescue the sailors. All three sailors are safely aboard Generoso Tercero with no reported injuries.

“It’s amazing that three people were rescued using Amver on the 100^th anniversary of the Titanic sinking,” said Petty Officer 3^rd Class Luke Clayton, a public affairs specialist in Boston. “Amver was created in the wake of the Titanic disaster. Passing ships had unintentionally sailed passed Titanic unaware of its collision.”

What does a rescue like this look like? Take a look at this footage captured by a U.S. Coast Guard C-130 rescue aircraft.



Can't see the video? Click here.

You can learn more about Amver and how it works here.

Photo credit: marinetraffic.com

Video credit: USCG video

Titanic; 100 years later

It's been 100 years since the tragic loss of the RMS Titanic and the death of 1, 514 people. As a result of Titanic's sinking the shipping community developed the Safety of Life at Sea Convention, the U.S. Coast Guard helped creat the International Ice Patrol, and the Amver system was developed.

Instead of discussing what happened, how the crew reacted, the hubris of the ship builders or owners, or the myriad of other topics, we thought we would look back through the Amver archives. We wanted to know how many ships enrolled on April 15th through the years. We came up with 50 ships. We were able to look back 15 years. Here are the ships that enrolled in Amver on April 15th since 1996.

• ALEXANDER CARL April 15, 1996
• SENECA MAIDEN April 15, 1996
• OSTROV MONERON April 15, 1996
• EAGLE NRCB April 15, 1996
• MSC KYOTO April 15, 1998
• TALASSA April 15, 1998
• COLUMBA April 15, 1998
• ATLAS NAVIGATOR April 15, 1998
• NORDMARK April 15, 1998
• SYPRESS April 15, 1998
• DUTCH AQUAMARINE April 15, 2002
• JAG PRAYOG April 15, 2002
• HAI XIA HAOHAI XIA HAO April 15, 2002
• NORDFIRESLAND April 15, 2002
• GWEN DREZ April 15, 2002
• HECTOR April 15, 2002
• M V BOREAL April 15, 2002
• EROTOKRITOS T April 15, 2002
• DROFN April 15, 2002
• PIONER SAKHALINA April 15, 2002
• IVAN PAPANIN April 15, 2002
• KANDALAKSHA April 15, 2002
• NOBLE April 15, 2002
• KAPITAN KRISHTOBAN April 15, 2002
• KOUBIA April 15, 2002
• ALEKSEY GENERALOV April 15, 2002
• PROFESSOR GAGARINSKIY April 15, 2002
• VEGA April 15, 2002
• CHERKASSY April 15, 2002
• DIOGEN April 15, 2002
• NIKOLAY REPINKOV April 15, 2002
• ARA FELIXSTOWE April 15, 2002
• PRABHU PUNI April 15, 2004
• KANCHAN April 15, 2004
• SEA BOWLD April 15, 2008
• INYALA April 15, 2008
• THETIS GLORY April 15, 2008
• MEDI SINGAPORE April 15, 2008
• MSC FIRENZE April 15, 2008
• AMERICAN CENTURY April 15, 2008
• DAPENG SUN April 15, 2008
• TAMBA April 15, 2009
• ULYSSES April 15, 2009
• KATHY C April 15, 2010
• BASLE EXPRESS April 15, 2010
• OCEAN GOLD April 15, 2010
• MONTE AZUL April 15, 2010
• CHEMICAL MARINER April 15, 2010
• CORCOVADO April 15, 2011
• GUNUNG DEMPO April 15, 2011

Photo credit: Wikipedia

Titanic SOS to go on display

The Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum will display the actual SOS sent by Titanic and received by the Hatteras Weather Bureau Station on April 14, 1912. According to a story in USA Today, Richard Dailey, the agent who received the message, was told he was "junking up the lines" and sent home for the night.

The RMS Titanic disaster was the genesis for the International Ice Patrol and the Amver search and rescue system. Today, vessels enrolled in the Amver system save a life every 33 hours.

You can learn more about Amver here.

Photo credit: National Park Service photo via USA Today