Yacht survivor meets his rescuer at IMO award ceremony
by Sail-World Cruising on 30 Nov 2010
Fijian seaman James Fanifau receives the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) Top 2010 Bravery Award for his rescue of a yachtsman SW
A 72 year-old survivor from a yacht that sank off Australia in appalling weather conditions last year, (see Sail-World http://www.sail-world.com/index_d.cfm?nid=75094!story) was reunited with his rescuer in an emotional ceremony held on last week at the Headquarters of the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
Fijian James Fanifau had already been given a bravery award for the same rescue by the Fijian Government in September this year.
Dr. Jerome Morgan, of the United States, was on hand to thank personally the Fijian seaman when the latter received, from IMO Secretary-General Efthimios E. Mitropoulos, the 2010 IMO Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea for his part in plucking Dr. Morgan from the sea in a highly dangerous rescue operation.
Dr. Morgan, who was accompanied at the ceremony by his two sons, said: 'I would not be standing here before you today if it were not for the courage and bravery of James Fanifau. James braved the violent storm that dark night to reach out for me and deliver me from the certain jaws of death, so that I would be able to see my beloved family again.'
Mr. Fanifau, who was, at the time, Fourth Engineer of the Singapore-flagged general cargo ship Scarlett Lucy, received the Award for his part in the dramatic rescue of two survivors, including Dr. Morgan, from the yacht Sumatra II, in May 2009, amid severe weather conditions in the Tasman Sea. A panel of eminent maritime professionals adjudged Mr. Fanifau to have displayed extraordinary bravery and humanitarian concern far beyond the normal call of duty.
The Scarlett Lucy had responded to a broadcast from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority’s Rescue Coordination Centre, alerting ships in the vicinity to a distress call some 350 nautical miles east of Brisbane. There were two people on board the yacht, which was taking on water and sinking, Weather conditions were very poor, with rough seas, waves up to eight metres high and low visibility. The distance offshore meant that a rescue helicopter could not be utilized.
As the rescue unfolded, Dr. Morgan’s fellow yachtsman was able to scramble up a boarding net to reach safety aboard the Scarlett Lucy. But Dr. Morgan drifted in the water for some 45 minutes as the crew of the Scarlett Lucy attempted to utilize life rings to bring him on board. Finally, Mr. Fanifau, placing himself in great danger and exhibiting little regard for his own personal safety, went over the side of his ship to pull the exhausted elderly man from the water and carry him to the safety of the vessel.
Having been nominated for the Award by the Government of Australia, Mr. Fanifau accepted it with heartfelt thanks and said that it was wonderful to see Dr. Morgan again.
'I had no idea that it would come to this when I climbed down the side of our ship to give Dr. Jerome a helping hand. I just acted instinctively, like anyone else, and I would do the same all over again if I had the chance,' he said.
Secretary-General Mitropoulos said that presenting the Award to Mr. Fanifau had particular resonance in 2010, during IMO’s 'Year of the Seafarer', adding: 'May James’s act inspire others who may find themselves faced with the same dilemma he was put to: to risk or not to risk. Let him become a role model for young people: for his decisiveness, his gallantry, his sense of self-sacrifice, his professionalism and his modesty. And let those who aspire to make a career at sea be motivated by James’s example when honouring one of the highest and noblest traditions at sea: to risk your life so that others may live!'.
(Mr. James Fanifau receives the 2010 IMO Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea from IMO Secretary-General Efthimios E. Mitropoulos. Behind him are (left) His Excellency Mr. John Dauth LVO, Australian High Commissioner and Permanent Representative of Australia to IMO, (right) His Excellency Mr. Pio Bosco Tikoisuva, Fijian High Commissioner)
Nine other nominations were recognised, and one, a Uruguay nomination, was the only other for the rescue of a yacht and crew:
• AB (Maritime Police) Gustavo Castrillon and AB (Maritime Police) Juan Almada, Sub-prefecture, Port of Santiago Vázquez, Coastguard of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, nominated by Uruguay, for the rescue of three children aged 6, 7 and 11, and two adults, suffering hypothermia and panic, after their yacht capsized, requiring the two officers to leave their rescue craft to reach the survivors and rescue them one by one over a rocky seabed, in poor weather conditions, in September 2009.
The IMO Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea was established by the Organization to provide international recognition for those who, at the risk of losing their own life, perform acts of exceptional bravery in attempting to save life at sea or in attempting to prevent or mitigate damage to the marine environment – and, by so doing, help to raise the profile of shipping and enhance its image.
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