As prepared for delivery...

AMVER Awards Presentation
at the Inaugural "Day of the Sea" event

Address of Ambassador Michael Klosson
Limassol, Cyprus

September 26, 2004

Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen:

Good-evening!  We now cap off the events of this wonderful “Day of the Sea” with a presentation of United States Coast Guard awards to Cypriot ships participating in AMVER. 

Let me thank our event’s three co-sponsors on AMVER -- the Cyprus Shipping Council, Cyprus Marine Protection Association, and the Propeller Club of the United States (International Port of Limassol) -- for their cooperation and support. 

Let me also thank the Department of Merchant Shipping and Ministry of Communications and Works, for their steadfast support over the years. I also want to thank Capt. Rand, of the US Coast Guard, for joining us this evening.

I am pleased that the entire spectrum of the Cyprus maritime industry is represented here today.  Together these organizations form a whole whose collective strength is greater than the sum of its parts.  I commend you for coming together to support this worthy program, and I am honored to be a part of this day.

When the organizers asked me to participate in this awards ceremony, they probably thought AMVER was something about which I knew nothing. I can’t from memory say exactly what “AMVER” stands for, but I do know what it does. I learned that through the following story:

There was once a boat that stopped at the mouth of the Mississippi river because of dense fog ahead.  A passenger asked the captain why they were stopped.  “Can’t see up the river,” the captain responded.  “But," said the passenger looking up," I can see the stars overhead. “Yep,” shot back the captain, “but unless the boilers burst, we ain’t going that way.”

And that's the point of AMVER:  to keep sailors from going to the stars even when the boilers burst.

AMVER, which stands for Automated Mutual-assistance Vessel Rescue System, is based on the unwritten bond among sailors that safety of life at sea is more important than cargo, flags or nationality.  So we are here tonight to pay tribute to unsung heroes.  Tonight's heroes are the owners and executives, engineers and agents, and masters, officers and crews of the ships and companies joined together in that unwritten bond called AMVER. 

AMVER has its origins in the TITANTIC tragedy of 1912, when two ships passed by the passenger liner unaware that it was sinking. This loss highlighted the need for a system that could alert and coordinate responses to an emergency on the high seas. The advent of computer technology made the system a reality in 1958. During its almost half century of operation, AMVER sought to harness the best technology available to save lives at sea.  Today, AMVER remains the only emergency response network on the world's oceans, in place and on call for safeguarding ships, mariners and passengers world-wide. 

Tonight, we honor over 100 ships from 21 companies.  We honor their owners who have generously volunteered their ships to assist other ships at sea in the event of an emergency.  Cyprus-flagged ships join those of more than 140 other countries, 12,000 ships worldwide, in forming a safety network that is stronger only because of the cooperation of all involved. Notice that I said “volunteered.”  This voluntary character of the system makes your participation all the more significant.

Since 1990, AMVER ships have saved more than 2,500 lives.  Last year alone, 143 were saved.  AMVER ships respond to many types of disasters at sea. Some rescues occurred in fair skies and light winds, but many occurred in stormy seas and raging winds, and in the dark of night.  These awards are a tribute to every mariner on an AMVER ship who puts himself or herself at risk to assist a fellow mariner.  The welcome sight of an AMVER rescue ship coming over the horizon is also a product of investment in a sophisticated network of communication, data processing and thoroughly trained professionals directing the ship where to go.

The International Maritime Organization, many international conferences, and grateful governments have hailed the indispensable contributions of this critical program.  We are glad to witness its steady expansion internationally, as well as in Cyprus, thanks to the cooperation of so many governments and organizations internationally. 

I would especially like to commend the Cyprus government for issuing a ministry circular to all owners, managers and representatives of ships under the Cyprus flag, to encourage participation by every ship in this vital program.  This proactive step by Director of the Department of Merchant Shipping, Mr. Serghios Serghiou, will further enhance the safety of life at sea.  Even if only a fraction of Cyprus' fleet of nearly 2,000 ships takes up this challenge and joins the ranks of those of you here tonight, it will be a tremendous gain indeed for the AMVER program and the safety of mariners and passengers world wide.  And, if every ship on the Cyprus register joins, next time we do this, we will spend the whole night giving out awards!  But that's one problem I will gladly deal with. 

To the proud ship owners who have already made the commitment and are receiving these awards tonight, I say, “well done!”  Whether or not your ship was actually diverted to make a rescue, its participation has added another first responder to the system and provided coverage of yet another expanse of ocean, so that all can travel the seas in greater safety.

This “Day of the Sea” celebrates the proud maritime heritage of Cyprus.  Tonight’s awards reinforce the traditional commitment of seafarers everywhere to safe passage at sea, and highlight the important role of Cyprus in the movement of international commerce in our global economy.

I would now ask the representatives of the following shipping companies to please step forward.