Captain Radhika Menon, Master of the MT Sampurna Swarajya,receives the IMO Award for Exception Bravery at Sea, November 21, 2016. Photo: International Maritime Organization
Captain Radhika Menon has become the first woman to receive the prestigious IMO Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea for her role in the dramatic heavy seas rescue of seven fishermen from a sinking fishing boat in the Bay of Bengal.
Captain Menon, Master of the oil products tanker Sampurna Swarajya, was presented the award on Monday during a ceremony at the 97th session of the Maritime Safety Committee held at IMO headquarters in London.
Captain Menon is the first female captain in the Indian Merchant Navy and the first female to receive the IMO Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea.
Captain Menons says she was “just doing her job” when she led the rescue operation to save the crew of the Durgamma in June 2015.
According to the IMO, Captain Menon ordered the rescue operation after spotting the Durgamma adrift in severe weather off Gopalpur, India. Despite wave heights of more than 25 feet, torrential rain, and winds of 60 knots, Captain Meno and her crew used the ship’s pilot ladder to get the seven men to safety on board the deck of the tanker.
“It is every seafarer’s and Master’s solemn duty and obligation to save souls in distress at sea. I just did what a seafarer should do for a fellow soul in distress at sea. Yes, it was an instant decision, but not without assessing the risks involved. I just did my duty,” said Captain Radhika Menon, Master of the oil products tanker Sampurna Swarajya.
Captain Menon began her seafaring career as a radio officer and rose through the ranks of deck officer before being appointed as Master of the Sampurna Swarajya.
Captain Menon was nominated for the Bravery Award by the Government of India. This year, the IMO received 23 nominations from nine Member States. Additional Certificates of Commendation and Letters of Commendation were also distributed to those individuals and crews.
The 999-built Sampurna Swarajya is an Indian-flagged oil products tanker of 32,950 dwt.
Ryan Jones (The Conversation)–Every year, an estimated 13 million people go whale-watching around the world, marveling at the sight of the largest animals ever to inhabit Earth. It’s a dramatic reversal from...
By Kevin Simauchi (Bloomberg) –Extreme heat this year has triggered wildfires, drought and melting glaciers. Less expectedly, it’s also revealed some weird and dark things about our past—shipwrecks, corpses, ghost villages, ornamental gardens and ancient...
By Umit Bektas and Orhan Coskun (Reuters) – The first grain ship to leave a Ukrainian port in wartime passed inspection and was heading through the Bosphorus on Wednesday for a delivery that foreign...
August 3, 2022
Total Views: 4878
Sign Up Now for gCaptain Daily
Just enter your email and get hot news every morning
SIGN UP
Get the latest gCaptain articles and breaking news
Sign up for gCaptain Daily
Get the latest gCaptain articles and breaking news
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.