Essar Shipping recognised by AMVER

(Posted on 28/08/19)

Essar Shipping Ltd (ESL) has announced that seven of the 12 vessels in its fleet have been recognised by the United States Coast Guard’s Automated Mutual Assistance Vessel Rescue (AMVER) System Programme for their outstanding commitment to safety at sea. The award ceremony was held in Mumbai on 22 August 2019.

The seven vessels are MV Arun, MV Ashok, MV Shravan, MV Kamlesh, MV Maithili, MV Mahavir and MV Kishore. Of these, MV Kamlesh, MV Mahavir and MV Kishore received the AMVER Blue Pennant as a mark of the vessels’ first year of participation with AMVER.

The Automated Mutual Assistance Vessel Rescue (AMVER) system, inaugurated in 1971, is a US Coast Guard sponsored, computer-based voluntary global ship reporting system used worldwide by search and rescue authorities to arrange for assistance for people in distress at sea. Its objective is that no call for help should go unanswered.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Ranjit Singh, Executive Director & CEO, ESL, who was also Chief Guest at the event, said: “We have always been committed to ensuring safety at sea. This is a proud moment for all of us, and I congratulate my team for this prestigious recognition.”

Essar Shipping is India’s second largest private sector shipping company, which has the youngest fleet in the country with a combined deadweight tonnage of 1.12 million. This capacity is deployed through both spot market, and long-term contracts and CoAs (Contracts of Affreightment). The business has invested in sustainable technologies like paperless navigation, fitting scrubbers on-board to make vessel emissions IMO compliant, and Green Passports. It is also the first and only Indian shipping company to be certified by American Bureau of Shipping for compliance with the ISO 9001:2008, ISO 14001:2004 and OHSAS 18001:2007 standards for the operation of its bulk carriers and tankers.