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Lloyds' List International Rescue at Sea Award for 'Stolt Capability'
01 Feb 2004
The crew of the Stolt-Nielsen SA ship S tolt Capability hasbeen named recipient of the 12th annual Lloyds' List International Rescue at Sea Award for 2003. The award was presented this month at the Lloyds' List Awards 2004 Gala in London.
In notifying Stolt-Nielsen Transportation Group of the award, Richard T. Kenney, Commandant of the US Coast Guard's AMVER Maritime Relations Office, wrote, 'The officers and crew members of the M/V Stolt Capability exhibited the professionalism and courage under adverse weather and sea conditions that is epitomised by the Lloyd's List International Rescue at Sea Award.' He added, 'Your Company and your staff, both afloat and ashore, should be justifiably proud of this singular honour. Some 12,000 ships participate annually in the AMVER Safety Network.'
AMVER (Automated Mutual Assistance Vessel Rescue) is a voluntary, worldwide ship reporting system, involving ships from 143 nations. AMVER enables rescue coordinators to plot the course and position of some 2,700 ships daily in every ocean of the world and on a computer screen, depicting their relative position to a vessel in distress.
Stolt Capability was en-route from Hong Kong to Kuantan in Malaysia on 21 October, 2003.
First Officer Francis Losbanes received the first distress call from the Vietnam-registered Hoang Dat 35 , with 16 crew aboard: 'Please help, my ship is sinking, please help!' The two vessels were eight miles apart and Captain Ivan Vukovic immediately altered course.
Stolt Capability reached the Hoang Dat 35 in about 30 minutes of high-speed steaming at 4:30am While another ship was nearby, Stolt Capability's superior maneuverability with dieselelectric propulsion and high efficiency rudder enabled the Captain to position the ship closer to the distressed vessel. The Hoang Dat 35 's port side bridge was almost touching the water and was in imminent danger of sinking. The rain, wind and rough sea with heavy swell made it impossible for the Stolt Capability to go alongside the sinking ship or even to lower the rescue boat. Capt Vukovic radioed that the crew of Hoang Dat 35 would have to use their flotation devices so that they could be plucked from the water.
Just after 5.00am, the first of two blinking lights from the crew's lifejackets were seen in the water. The Stolt crew was ready, with pilot ladders rigged forward and aft on the port side having maneuvered the ship to give lee for the men in the water. After about one hour of intense efforts, 12 cold and exhausted crew were safely on board Stolt Capability .Two other crew members could be seen in the water. Despite heroic efforts by Chief Officer Gordon Segota, First Assistant Engineer Leonard McKenna and First Officer Losbanes, both men expired before being brought abroad.
At 9.24am, Stolt Capability sighted a man in the water a few miles north-northeast of the original recovery area and he was quickly brought aboard. The last missing seaman was not recovered. The rescued men, including the master of the Hoang Dat 35 , were delivered to Nha Trang, Vietnam, the nearest port.
MJ Information No: 19134
