The International Maritime Rescue Federation (IMRF) is calling for nominations and entries from around the world for its annual IMRF Awards.
Last year, nominations came from as far afield as South Africa, New Zealand, Morocco, Hong Kong, Sweden, Norway and many more. The submissions put forward search and rescue (SAR) professionals, lifeguards, and ships’ crew all of whom had at some point gone far beyond the call of duty as they made every effort to save the lives of refugees, people involved in accidents, cruise passengers on a burning ship or fellow crew members who’d fallen overboard.
Theresa Crossley, CEO IMRF says: “The nominations come from all around the world, putting forward SAR professionals, lifeguards, ships’ crew and equipment manufacturers who have made an outstanding contribution to maritime SAR over the last twelve months. The 2018 IMRF Awards, give some of these many unsung heroes just some of the recognition they deserve.”
The IMRF Awards were created three years ago to recognise and reward the selfless efforts of search and rescue operators around the world, who make many sacrifices to saves lives at sea. If you know an individual or a team who have demonstrated exceptional ingenuity or expertise in their efforts to save lives at sea, please go to the IMRF website and nominate them now.
The IMRF Awards also showcase new search and rescue products, technologies and techniques that could help improve search and rescue operations and save more lives. So, if you know of a company that has an idea or a product that should be put forward, please complete the nomination form now and get them just some of the recognition they deserve.
Entries are invited for the four IMRF Awards 2018 categories:
· The IMRF Award for Outstanding Individual Contribution to a Maritime SAR Operation
· The IMRF Award for Outstanding Team Contribution to a Maritime SAR Operation
· Innovation and Technology in Maritime Search and Rescue (to recognize technological innovations that improve maritime SAR locally and globally for the rescuer and/or for those being rescued)
· The IMRF Vladimir Maksimov Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Maritime SAR Sector.
This year’s Awards ceremony and dinner will be hosted by the Norwegian Society for Sea Rescue (RS) at their new high-tech training centre, RS Noatun near Horten in Norway, following the IMRF’s annual European Regional Meeting.
There will also be an IMRF Local Hero Award 2018, which will be presented to an exceptional local SAR individual nominated by the event’s hosts, the Norwegian Society for Sea Rescue.
Nominations can be made online at: http://www.imrfawards.org/ nomination-form-imrf-awards or by email to: imrfawards@imrf.org.uk or by phone, by calling: 0044 (0)1569 767405 for an application form. The closing date for nominations is Tuesday 31 July 2018.
The IMRF Awards 2018 recognise actions that took place, or were completed, in the period from 01 July 2017 to 30 June 2018. Any individual or organisation anywhere in the world can be nominated for an IMRF Award.
All of the submissions will be assessed by a panel of judges and the winners will be announced at an awards dinner hosted by the Norwegian Society for Sea Rescue in Norway, on Thursday 8 November 2018.
The IMRF is grateful for the kind support of its sponsors.
The lead sponsor for the IMRF Awards 2018 is Orolia Maritime, which is also sponsoring the Team Award for the third year in succession. Navigation safety has been the core of Orolia Maritime’s Emergency Readiness and Response heritage over the last seventy years, leveraging globally trusted safety solutions, fleet management technology and maritime legislation expertise. Orolia Maritime’s leading edge Resilient Positioning, Navigation and Timing solutions protect and augment critical GNSS dependant vessel infrastructure, while its brand portfolio includes McMurdo and Kannad beacons, Netwave’s VDR technology and the Orolia Omnicom portfolio of Communication and Tracking solutions. (Orolia Maritime – trusted for safer journeys www.orolia.com)
Inmarsat, the global satellite owner and operator providing mobile and fixed communications services to the maritime industry, is sponsoring the Lifetime Achievement Award (www.inmarsat.com)
The Individual Award is sponsored by CM Hammar, whose vision is to substantially reduce loss of life at sea by creating better solutions for safety at sea (www.cmhammar.com).
The Innovation & Technology Award is sponsored by Pole Star, which has been proudly serving the maritime sector by increasing safety and security at sea for 20 years (www.polestarglobal.com).
The Awards Dinner is being sponsored by Swede Ship Marine, builders of professional and exclusive boats for the most demanding customers worldwide (www.swedeship.se).
The Local Hero Award will be presented to an individual or team nominated by the Awards host, the Norwegian Society for Sea Rescue in Norway, and is sponsored by the Norwegian Seafarers Union and the Norwegian Union of Marine Engineers (www.nsu.org), (www.filnorgain.org) and NSOF Novsk Sjooffisersforbund (https://www.sjooff.no/Sider/ default.aspx).
Source: International Maritime Rescue Federation (IMRF)
