EMEA News
Master and Crew of Marlin Luanda Commended for Bravery by IMO
Firefighting on the deck of a tanker struck by a missile and averting a major environmental disaster have earned the master and crew of the clean products tanker, Marlin Luanda, the International Maritime Organisation's highest award for bravery at sea.
The tanker was fully laden with cargo at around 95% when it was hit by an unidentified missile 60 nautical miles off the coast of Aden earlier this year.
The ship's master, Captain Avhilash Rawat, was not on the bridge when the explosion happened.
"I wasn't on the bridge [when the missile struck] but I was on my way there," Rawat told Ship & Bunker at the awards ceremony this week. He said that "the whole ship shook" from the explosion that he recognised straightaway as a missle attack.
Rawat said that his first thought was to account for the safety of his crew. With that confirmed, he decided not to abandon ship but to stay and fight the fire.
"We were in a position to do that," he said.
That action took around 12 hours with support from other ships in the area. When Indian Navy ships took an active part in the firefighting operation, there were a further seven hours before the fire was brought under control.
Rawat's presence of mind saved the ship and its the cargo and prevented a serious environmental disaster.
For that, he and his crew received the 2024 IMO award for exceptional bravery at sea and actions to save the marine environment.
"It is an immense honour to receive this award," Rawat said at the awards ceremony held at the IMO building in London this week.
He said with the whole crew acting as a team, "we were able to overcome what seemed like an insurmountable problem".
The aframax tanker is operated by Trafigura. The ship received continuous online support from the company during the episode.
Rawat was commended by his employer for his actions.
About Julian Macqueen
Julian is Ship & Bunker's Senior Editor and has over 20 years' experience covering the maritime and energy industries. In addition to being the editor of the Oxford-based Bunkernews in the late nineties, his career has included appointments at Lloyd's List, Tradewinds, Bunkerworld, and S&P Global Platts.
Julian is based in London, UK.
About Ship & Bunker
Ship & Bunker is the world's most read publication focused on the marine fuel markets. Completely independent, it is the leading industry authority providing comprehensive daily news, exclusive in-depth features and analysis, along with daily & historical bunker price indications.
To contact the editor responsible for this story email us at editor@shipandbunker.com
