IMO Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea

The award was presented during a special ceremony in London held during the Organization’s 25th Assembly.

IMO Secretary-General Mr. Efthimios E. Mitropoulos said the award was “a tribute to extraordinary courage; to adversity faced and adversity overcome; to determination in the face of grave danger; and to lives risked and lives saved.” The Searose G was on passage through the Mediterranean, bound for the Suez Canal, when it responded to a distress call from the Maltese-flagged Teklivka, which was sinking 50 miles south in gale force winds. A dramatic rescue operation was launched and the Searose G managed to rescue nine crew members with a further three survivors picked up by another vessel. The Assessment and Judging Panels considered that Second Officer Topiwala and Captain Ostric had placed their own lives in jeopardy, even though they were not trained professional rescuers, by undertaking acts that went well beyond the scope of their normal duties. The IMO Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea was established by the Organization to provide international recognition for those who, at the risk of losing their own life, perform acts of exceptional bravery, displaying outstanding courage in attempting to save life at sea.

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Iranian boats ‘threatened’ US ships

The White House issued a warning to Tehran after Iranian speedboats buzzed three US navy ships and threatened to blow them up.

The US forces were “literally” on the verge of firing on the Iranian boats as they passed through the strategic Strait of Hormuz, and had moved to operate their guns when the Iranians turned and sped away. No shots were fired in the incident yesterday morning in one of the world’s key shipping routes for crude oil. Details of the incident remain unclear, but the skipper of one of the five Iranians speedboats said in a radio transmission: “I’m coming at you and you will blow up in a couple of minutes.” News of the stand-off emerged as President Bush prepares to leave tomorrow on a trip to the Middle East in which he is expected to tackle Iran’s growing regional influence. The incident occurred about 5am local time on Sunday as a US Navy cruiser, destroyer and frigate were crossing the strait on their way into the Gulf when they were buzzed by the speedboats, which dropped boxes in the water in front of them.

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Asia-Europe shipping traffic on fast growth route

The level of dependence of the Asian maritime industry on US is getting stronger, especially for countries such as India and China.

 

However, things could change in the next few years with demand from Europe increasing. Large container ships have already started plying between Asia and Europe. It appears that Asia-US container traffic grew to the order of 6.9 per cent in the first half of 2007, rising to around 8 per cent for the first nine months, relative to the same period in 2006. Analyst forecasts predict, on average, similar or slightly higher cargo growth for 2008. That is slower than the 9.6 per cent growth posted for the full year 2006 to 6.5 million 40-foot containers, but it, nonetheless, reflects considerable resilience among US consumers, amid uncertainty over sub-prime mortgages, home values, tightening credit, high gas prices and a weak dollar, according to the Transatlantic Stabilization Agreement. The TSA is a research and discussion group of 14 major container shipping lines offering ocean and inland transportation, logistics and supply chain services from Asia to the US.

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