[BITList] Lloyd's List - Ship Operations - Beyond the call of duty
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Beyond the call of duty
Friday 25 November 2011, 16:28 by Michael Grey SHIP OPERATIONS
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Capt Seog Hae-Gyun receiving his award from Efthimios Mitropoulos.
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People get awards for all sorts of things these days, but none are more deserving of the IMO Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea than the master of the Samho Jewelry
I WAS talking to the master of a tanker who was operating through the pirate infested Indian Ocean a few months ago, about how it tended to focus the mind as the next voyage took shape. It was, he said, what he imagined going to war would have been like, 70 years earlier.
It was war in everything but its name for Captain Seog Hae-Gyun, who last January was in command of chemical tanker Samho Jewelry when it was boarded by a Somali pirate gang. The crew took cover in the designated citadel, but the heavily armed pirates broke in and captured the crew, confining them on the bridge. A long period of frightfulness off the horrible coast of Somalia stared them all in the face.
But the pirates had not reckoned with the determination of the South Korean master. Over the next two days, he steered the ship on a zigzag course, so that the pirates would not know their true heading was away from Somalia, rather than towards the coast. He somehow contaminated the fuel so the engines misfired, pretended that the steering gear was malfunctioning and slowed the ship down from 14 to six knots, thus keeping the vessel out of Somali waters as long as possible, so that units of the Republic of Korea Navy might have time to attempt a rescue. But the pirates became suspicious and brutally assaulted the master, fracturing his legs and shoulders. He was forced to communicate to the shipping company in English, but somehow the master managed to insert information in Korean into his messages, informing the warships of the true situation.
As the sun came up on January 21, a team from ROKN Choi Young mounted a rescue operation and by 0630 had gained full control of the ship. But there were three pirates still at large at the steering position, and despite his injuries the Master managed to broadcast a VHF warning to the naval assault team. The furious pirates then shot Capt Seog four times, including twice in the abdomen, in a vicious act of revenge as the Korean commandos closed in. Eight of the pirates were killed and five captured. The 21 crew members were freed.
The master was grievously injured and after emergency treatment from the naval team was evacuated by inflatable craft and helicopter to the Sultan Qaboos Hospital in Oman and eventually, to hospital in South Korea, where he underwent major surgery. It was nearly a month before this courageous merchant mariner recovered full consciousness. Capt Seog, whose training and career progression had scarcely prepared him for such an eventuality as armed and violent piracy, had in effect been to war, and acquitted himself with great distinction.
In presenting the International Maritime Organization Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea to Capt Seog, who 10 months after the vicious attack still needs a walking stick, secretary-general Efthimios Mitropoulos said that the master “acted with quick thinking, courageously and with extreme bravery to protect all those whose lives depended on him and his decisions. His selfless actions left him with severe injuries and nearly cost him his life”.
The actions and ordeal of this brave shipmaster, said Mr Mitropoulos, had particular resonance this year, “when piracy has been at the epicentre of our activities, spurring and motivating us to orchestrate a credible response to its menace”.
This annual award, which was devised by the retiring secretary-general himself, partly as a way of raising awareness of the debt society owes to seafarers and recognising the special qualities that seafarers are often called upon to demonstrate, has been a thoroughly worthwhile initiative. People who spend their working lives “over the horizon”, and far from the knowledge of the general public, richly deserve this high profile recognition at a full diplomatic event and before the IMO Assembly.
The fact that there were 38 nominations this year would seem to suggest that a lot of brave people are at last seeing their courage recognised.
Those who were highly commended and who received letters of commendation included rescue swimmers who routinely put their lives on the line, crews who went beyond the call of duty to extinguish fires on blazing ships and drag refugees out of sinking craft in raging seas, air-sea rescue helicopter crews, fishermen who saved others in a super typhoon and supply boat crew who put themselves in harm’s way to rescue survivors from the firestorm of the Deepwater Horizon.
There was a special award in the shape of certificates of commendation to the Falmouth and Stavanger Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centres for their contribution to SAR operations all over the world, over many years. While other MRCCs seem to work part time, Falmouth and Stavanger are a 24/7 operation and a brief look at the casualty columns of this newspaper most days will confirm their global involvement.
People get awards for all sorts of things these days in a sort of ritual that seems to have filtered down from the Oscars, but just sometimes you are faced with conduct that is really very deserving, very humbling but also raises everyone’s spirits. The award to Capt Seog falls firmly within this extra-special category. We hope he gets well soon.
rjmgrey at dircon.co.uk
Keywords: Piracy & Security, Europe, Ship Operations, United Kingdom, Michael Grey, Commentary
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