The Master and the crew of our AHTSV, the “Greatship Ahalya”, were conferred with the “Certificate of Commendation”, by IMO on 2nd of November in the annual award function held in the IMO Headquarters in London. This award, given jointly with the crew of Indian naval vessels, the INS Kochi and INS Kolkata, was for their roles in the rescue of 261 personnel (of which there were 18 casualties) on the accommodation barge P-305, carried out following the barge’s collision with an oil rig during cyclone Tauktae in 2021.
As stated by the IMO – “This annual award in IMO was established 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 or in attempting to prevent or mitigate damage to the marine environment. Such acts of bravery also involve extraordinary seamanship skills in very difficult conditions or any other display of outstanding courage.”
The “Certificate of Commendation” was received by Captain Sushil Kumar Singh on behalf of all the crewmembers of the Greatship Ahalya from Mr. Kitack Lim, the Secretary General of IMO.