Date:
March 2, 2009 

Contact:
Christopher Evanson
(305) 213-9235

Editor's note: Media interested in covering this event shall contact Petty Officer 1st Class Christopher Evanson at (305) 213-9235 or by email at Christopher.P.Evanson@uscg.mil. Media should arrive at the Blount Island Security Parking lot off of Hecksher Drive no later than 12:15 p.m. Direct crews to come over the Blount Island Causeway, follow the sign for private vehicles to the right and then make a quick left into the parking area. Members of the media will be escorted to the event site in official vehicles.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The Coast Guard will present an award to the crew of a South Korean merchant ship responsible for rescuing an American sailor who was aboard a sailboat that capsized 180-miles south of Madagascar at a ceremony in Jacksonville Monday.

Presenting the award will be Capt. Paul Thomas, commander Coast Guard Sector Jacksonville and Captain of the Port of Jacksonville. The presentation will take place at the Jacksonville Port Authorities Blount Island Terminal Monday at 1 p.m.

The South Korea-flagged Merchant Ship Auto Banner rescued Leo Sherman, 56, a native of Illinois, after the sailboat he was aboard, the Queequeg II, capsized following a severe storm off the coast Madagascar January 22.

Three crewmembers including Sherman aboard the Queequeg II were on a two year voyage around the world when the boat capsized. Sherman was the only survivor.

Rescue Coordination Center La Reunion, France, launched rescue efforts, including notifying AMVER vessels in the region. The crew of the Auto Banner, a car carrier, rescued Sherman after they found him clinging to a piece of wreckage. The Auto Banner is a member of the Automated Mutual Assistance Vessel Rescue System, better known throughout the maritime community as AMVER.

AMVER, which is sponsored by the Coast Guard, is a unique, computer-based, and voluntary global ship reporting system used worldwide by search and rescue authorities to arrange for assistance to persons in distress at sea. During an emergency, rescue coordinators can identify participating AMVER ships in the area of a distress and divert the best-suited ship or ships to respond. On an average day approximately 3,500 ships worldwide are available to carry out search and rescue services.

An international search effort consisting of resources from the Coast Guard, Air Force, South Africa, and AMVER ships were able to pinpoint the location of the Queequeg II from the digital 406-MHz Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon that was attached to the boat. The Coast Guard only receives distress alert broadcasts from digital 406-MHz EPIRBs after phasing out the older 121.5 or 243 analog signals Feb. 1.

To read a first person account of the rescue, click here.

To learn more about AMVER, click here.

To view a photo of the Merchant Ship Auto Banner, click here.