Marine Rescue NSW wins 2014 NSW Water Safety Awards

by Ken McManus on 27 Sep 2014 Marine Rescue NSW volunteers have been recognised for their enormous contribution to safety on the water, with the rescue service taking out a prestigious title at the 2014 NSW Water Safety Awards.

MRNSW won the Most Outstanding Contribution to Water Safety by an Organisation category at the annual awards, presented tonight.

Marine Rescue Forster-Tuncurry also took out the Water Safety Event of the Year award for its January Water Expo, which raised awareness of water and boating safety and demonstrated the rescue skill and professionalism of MRNSW members and their colleagues in the emergency and maritime services.

Marine Rescue Cottage Point member David White was highly commended in the Most Outstanding Contribution to Water Safety by an Individual category and Marine Rescue Botany Port Hacking also was commended in the Local Community Initiative category for its community education activities.

MRNSW Deputy Commissioner Dean Storey congratulated the 3,300 Marine Rescue volunteers on the well-deserved recognition of their work to save lives on the water.

'This Outstanding Contribution Award, presented as Marine Rescue NSW celebrates its fifth anniversary, is fitting recognition of our achievements since this volunteer service was established in July 2009,' he said.

'Each and every one of our members in our 45 units has earned this award through their enormous hard work, skill on the water and dedication to serving the community.

'Over the past year, our crews have responded to 750 life-threatening emergencies and assisted another 2,300 vessels in distress, often putting their own safety at risk in hazardous conditions. Our radio operators handled more than 364,000 radio transmissions around-the-clock.

'We also Logged On almost 80,000 vessels, giving their skippers the peace of mind of knowing that someone responsible was keeping watch to ensure they returned safely to shore and would swiftly activate a search if they were overdue.

'Our members are recognised as leading boating safety advocates.'

Deputy Commissioner Storey said MRNSW worked in collaboration with other emergency and maritime services, particularly the NSW Police Force Marine Area Command and Roads and Maritime Services.

He said MRNSW was grateful for the ongoing financial support of the NSW Government and the boating Marine Rescue NSW