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SIU crews honored (11/10)

The U.S. Military Sealift Command (MSC) issued the following news release covering Seafarers-crewed vessels whose crews were honored Nov. 5 by the United Seamen’s Service at the 38th annual Admiral of the Ocean Sea Awards in New York. MSC masters and crews honored at awards gala The masters and crews of seven Military Sealift Command ships – USNS Shughart, USNS Red Cloud, USNS Sisler, MV Cape Ducato, MV Cape Douglas, USNS Guadalupe and MV Merlin – were honored by the United Seamen's Service at the 38th annual Admiral of the Ocean Sea Awards in New York City Nov. 5. Representatives from each ship were presented with an AOTOS Mariners’ Plaque for displaying outstanding seamanship, courage and devotion to duty at sea. The masters and crews of large, medium-speed, roll-on/roll-off ships Shughart, Red Cloud and Sisler and Ready Reserve Force ships Cape Ducato and Cape Douglas received an AOTOS Mariners’ Plaque for their combined, unrelenting efforts to save Shughart from a dangerous fire that sparked while the ship was offloading cargo in Kuwait on March 5, 2004. The crew of Guadalupe, a fleet replenishment oiler, was recognized for the rescue of 13 fishermen aboard a stricken Taiwanese vessel in the Pacific Ocean on June 22, 2004. The seafarers had been adrift for five days with little food or water. The crew of maritime prepositioning ship MV Merlin was honored for the daring rescue of a man in danger of drowning after his ship, MV Kephi, sank in stormy seas. Despite gale force winds and 20-plus-foot seas, Guadalupe's master skillfully pulled the ship alongside a small life raft and rescued Kephi's second mate, Eslam Hassan Osman Morgan, from the frigid water. The United Seamen's Service was established more than 60 years ago to promote the welfare of American seafarers through various assistance programs offered around the world. More than 4,100 civil service mariners and 3,900 commercial mariners serve aboard MSC’s government-owned ships and chartered ships worldwide. MSC operates more than 110 noncombatant, civilian-crewed ships that replenish Navy ships at sea, chart ocean bottoms, conduct undersea surveillance, strategically preposition combat cargo at sea around the world and move 95 percent of military equipment and supplies used by deployed U.S. forces. -USN-