The inaugural IMO Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea was presented on 19th November to two seafarers who risked their lives to save others in a dramatic rescue operation in gale-force winds.
Second Officer Mustafa Topiwala of the 83,155dwt Bahamas-registered oil/bulk ore carrier Searose G and Captain Zvonimir Ostric (who was in the vessel as onboard trainer at the time of the incident) were selected to receive the inaugural 2007 IMO Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea, in recognition of their part in the rescue of survivors from the sunken vessel Teklivka, in the eastern Mediterranean, in March 2006.
They were nominated by the Bahamas and by the International Federation of Shipmasters’ Associations (IFSMA).