An American rescue swimmer who sπσαaved four men from a sinking ocean-goi×≤∏ng rowing boat was reunited wi↕ ↓£th three of the people h×≥←e rescued in an emotional ceremo✔× ny at IMO Headquarters yesterd∞‍δ★ay (19 November).

Aviation Survival Technician Chri↓¶ stopher Leon of the United S≠ ≈★tates Coast Guard received the IMO Awa★ £​rd for Exceptional Brave&‌€ry at Sea for his pa♠£÷₽rt in the dramatic rescue of four σ→↑ ocean racers from t& ♥'he Pacific Ocean. He was thanked in₹™ person by grateful rescuees Sam β€‍←Collins, Fraser Hart and  ✘James Wright, all from the United K£δ ingdom, during the award ceremony.

The three rowers, along with Mr. Colin σ$Parker from New Zealand, ‍®had been taking part in part in the G£"‍reat Pacific Race in June 201 ♣4 when their four-man boat Britannia ♣↓4 began sinking in sev"←ere conditions. The raceγ✔↔ support vessel had been unab♥®le to reach the strick "✔en rowing boat and its crew due→×✔  to 30 knot winds and 15β↓≤₹ to 20-foot waves. The rowers​ σ owe their lives to thβ"÷∞e efforts of rescue swim♠®mer AST Leon, who had¥β been lowered to the&↔‍< sea to assist them, and to the sπ£uccessful hoists performed by'£‍♥ the helicopter crew in conditions✘$£÷ compounded by darkness, l®§₹ ack of visual cues and horizon and bre¶∏aking waves.

Speaking at the ceremony, AST Leon sai≈≠φd he was pleased to meet the rescuees f™✘or the first time since the fateful ni←∑≠ght, and in entirely different circum♥£₹‍stances.  He sa∞∞ id he was honoured and humbled ↓÷to be receiving the award  ✔≤§and thanked his fellow crew members, ≠★α↕who had flown the helic≥♦ opter through gale force winds≈‌♣ to winch AST Leon down to the rowe‌€∑♠rs in the stormy seas below and who ha‍✔d performed a series of demand∏‍¶ing recovery hoists to initially r€&escue three of the men÷↔∏.

When fuel levels on the helicopter be∑♦came dangerously low¶•¥ and it had to leave the scene to ref∑ ∑uel, AST Leon remained with the fourth ↑φ¶ rower Mr. Hart, huddled in th​σ≠≈e tiny bow portion of the §÷$swamped vessel that re×↕☆₹mained above water. The t₩£wo men protected each other f₹γrom the breaking waves ε'‌‌and freezing temperatures.  Fin±¥&εally, the helicopter was able to r≤§↕eturn through the st∏$Ωγormy night and hoist the two men to s×✘afety.

“I would especially li<↓✔'ke to thank the crew of th∞₽Ωe helicopter, Lieutenan‍‍®t Scott Black, Lieutenant Jesse C↓λ Keyser and flight mechanic Michael↕÷ Spraggins, because nothing±‌©✘ I do, can be done wi₩×₹→thout them; and everything✘↔• we do is a team effort – espe‍•αcially for this case,&∏↑rdquo; AST Leon said. .π©→ 
 
Rescuee Sam Collins thanked AST©↑ Leon and the helico↓¥&pter crew at the ceremony, acknowle✘↔dging that setting out to row the P​♦→acific Ocean had been for their own gr₽‌↓atification, while AST Leon β÷αhad acted selflessly to‌φ rescue them.

“What Chris did was a c>λ<™ompletely selfless act. S☆•♠'omething quite specialφΩ←σ. Chris Leon woke up in the m≤β​↓orning and no doubt brushed €©his teeth, had a normal day. And then,♣÷ in the darkness of nig¶>‌≠ht, a year and a half ago, he launched →γ≠himself off the side o→‌π→f a helicopter into gale force winds  σ™and over six metre high seas just≠₩₹π to save our lives,” Mr. Coll♦δins said.  &nb✘±δsp;

“And as a result we are aΩ♥live. We will have ch §☆λildren. Our children will go on to hav≠©∏e children. And we can hopefully r"<₹epay him, by making the most o©¶α±f our lives. So what I am trying t★​β✔o say, is: thank you‌×£φ, Chris, you really ∞¥≠∏deserve this award for what was a truα✘ly exceptional act of bπσ₩ravery at sea,” Mr. C↔>ollins said.  

AST Leon and the crew of >≠ the rescue helicopter CG-6531, US'≠ Coast Guard Air Station San Fran™₹π<cisco were nominated by ₩≈‌ the United States. AST LeonΩ∏±× received a medal for the highest awar↕∞→d and a certificate.  H∑£σis fellow crew on theσ≤ night of the rescue, Lieutenant Sc>®<©ott Black, Lieutenan ≥"‍t Jesse C Keyser and Aviation Ω☆ Maintenance Technician Michael Spraggi ¶←πns received certificatβγes for their role. €δ'

IMO Secretary-General Koji Seki≈↓↕γmizu presented the Bravery Awar×® d medal and certificate¥✘  to Mr. Leon. 

Certificates of commendation•€←
During the award ceremony, ♦♠certificates of commendation were also£ε presented to the follε♦↕∞owing:

Vicente Somera from the Philippines, cr¥×εew member of the cont↑→σainer ship Lars Maersk, was at the c≥ αeremony in person to receive a ♦→‌↔certificate for his role in rescui ♥↕♥ng a stricken yachtsman fr≈↓€om the Enya II in heavy we ¶σather in the Tasman Sea, some 70 naut$φ¥€ical miles from the ne✔ ☆arest land, when the con​αtainer ship responded to a distress al≥≈↓ert.  Crew member©©> Somera, with little reg¶≈ards for his own safety&≥, climbed down an accommodation lad¶$×$der to grab the yachtsman, uγ©×>sing his own body to s ♣hield him from being crushe♥α≤αd by the swinging ladder. M π© r. Somera was nominated by Australia.

Skipper Jean-Claude Van Rymenant was also at the ceremony↔₽₩∞ in person to receive the certif 'icate awarded to him and the crew of th₹↓>e rescue launch SNS 129 Notre Dame de ✔ la Garoupe, volunteer >$<rescuers based in the±©↓ French Caribbean islandγδ of Saint Martin.  They™× were nominated by France for the re₩δ≈δscue of a woman, her husband and€<' a baby from a yacht as"¥γΩ Cyclone Gonzalo hit th∏↑e island in October 2014. ™≥≤&In high winds and poor visibility, th→♥e rescue crew swam to the Vo÷ <πyage II, which had struck a‍α≠γ reef, and managed to bring ☆ε§the family to safety. The crew went ✘ <≥on to assist people from around 20 m★‍ ore ships and boats which had been grouγ$α>nded in the cyclone. 

Father Ilia Kartozia (posthumously), Abbot of the€♠≠  Monastery of Saint David the Builder,§←≈ε Patriarchate of Georgia, was noΩ< βminated by Georgia for his role in₹↓ε helping fellow passen¶&≤gers to escape the Norman Atlantic ro-r<₩o ferry, which was carrying nearly£$≤" 500 passengers and crew whe™↓n its car deck caught fire in hea₽≤← vy storms during a crossing from Greec©♥‌ e to southern Italy. Survivors report" ₽€ed that Father Ilia had♠♥∑ encouraged them durin♠₹g the rescue and had refused o¶€βpportunities to save hims♥☆↕&elf, giving up his place in a l←​'"ifeboat to make room λ∏ for a Greek woman and her'Ωγ baby.  Despite the best effo‍$±↓rts of rescuers, Father Ilia fell int ☆↓o the sea and sadly drowned. Hi§λ§≥s body was found on the Ital₩λ↕★ian shore.  The certifica→§te was received by Igumen Father Do ≤rote Barbakadze, Dean of ∞<‍↑the Georgian Orthodox Churc★☆ h in London, on behal₩≈f of Father Ilia.  π®δ 

Lieutenant John Hess, Lie♠>λutenant Matthew Vanderslice, Aviatiσ≈on Maintenance Techni♥₽cian Derrick Suba and Aviati₽™≤≈on Survival Technician✔≠∞→ Evan Staph, crew members of the ™≈♦rescue helicopter CG 60‍♣₩33, US Coast Guard Air Station C≈✘©δape Cod, were nominated by ™©γ♦the United States for rescuing a fa≥‌ther-son team aboard the yacht S₩±♥edona, who had set sail for<↑ε Australia but had been stranded '♠some 150 nautical miles from t×¥he nearest land during a powerful wi&→nter storm. Freezing ÷→temperatures, high seas and <™εstrong winds hampereα∞φ✔d efforts to reach the stricke ∑÷n yacht and seven diffic"₹ult and dangerous hoists were neede∏←d to rescue the two men. ​₩‍ The certificates were received on thei€♣¥r behalf by Rear Admiral Paul Thomas, A&≤&↓ssistant Commandant ₹↔​for Prevention Policy at United States∏∑∞£ Coast Guard, Mr. Jeffrey Lantz, D'φirector of Commercial Re₽∏¥εgulations and Standards at the ∞‍≥United States Coast Guard and M​↔r. Edward Heartney, Counsello$₽¥₽r for Environment, Science, Technolo€→≠↕gy and Health at the US Embassy in L↑σ$✔ondon, and Permanent Represent♥∏♠↓ative of the United States of America♠σ₹ to IMO.

Letters of Commendation
In addition, Letters of Commendation ★'↓have been sent to:

• Captain Lai Zhixing₽₽&©, Master of the rescue vessel Nan Hai J©γ↕☆iu 111, Nanhai Rescue Bureau,↕∞ nominated by China, for a res✔λ↓≥cue during Typhoon Kalmaegi.

• The crew of the X≥← →infa Hai, nominated by Chi↓♥₽βna, for saving the car‌♣go vessel Thor Commander nearπλγ​ the Great Barrier Reef.

• Petty Officer William Hube↕$πrt and two crew members Ωδof the helicopter Res♠±÷≠cue Tango, Detachment of 35F flotiδσlla at Tahiti-Faa&rs>≈≥×quo;a, French Navy, nomi₹σΩδnated by France for re'→scuing 10 crew members$∞α of a fishing boat. 

IMO Award for Exceptio↔‍§nal Bravery at Sea
This annual award was establi ∑shed by IMO to provi ♣✔♦de international recogn∑≠φ<ition for those who, at the risk of loβγsing their own life, perfor₹•☆ m acts of exceptional π₩φbravery, displaying outst₹ anding courage in attemptin‌β g to save life at sea or in attempting γ®to prevent or mitigate damag♦ ←e to the marine enviro£∞₽≈nment.

For the 2015 award, 27 nominatio↑σns for the bravery award were recei§÷¶ved, from 10 IMO Member States and two  ÷ non-governmental organizati∑≠γons in consultative stat‍εus.

By IMO website