VOS Glamour recognised for contributions to SAR operation following Solong and Stena Immaculate collision
Emergency response and rescue vessel VOS Glamour has been recognised by the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) for support during a search-and-rescue (SAR) operation in the North Sea earlier this year. Our Vroon Offshore Services (VOS) team was involved in rescue operations of a tanker and cargo ship following a collision off the Humber coast.
This major incident at sea in the early hours of 10 March, involving container ship MV Solong and cargo vessel Stena Immaculate, tragically resulted in the loss of one crewman on board MV Solong. Both vessels caught fire, and an emergency response was launched, involving Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) vessels, Coastguard helicopters and several vessels with firefighting capabilities. VOS Glamour assisted with the vital role of on-scene coordinator for the SAR operations.
Vroon Offshore Services Managing Director Stuart Thom was invited on stage at the recent MCA’s UK Flag Forum event in London to receive a recognition award from MCA Chief Executive Virginia McVea. Virginia said, “We wanted to kick off our session amongst the UK flag family by acknowledging the contribution paid by our own members, while recognising the loss of Mark Angelo Pernia. Vroon’s team and its role in the on-site coordination was crucial, as recognised by the Secretary of State’s representative. Their service was vital in the search and rescue operation.”
Accepting the award on behalf of VOS Glamour and her crew, Stuart said, “It’s nice for our vessel and crew to be recognised here at the Flag Forum event. They’re an emergency response vessel and it’s what they do 24/7, 365 days a year. We’re very proud of them.”
We underline these words of appreciation for the VOS Glamour team. Our vessel’s capabilities, combined with her crew’s professionalism and regular safety training, meant they were able to provide essential and effective assistance during this large-scale incident. The award will be presented to the vessel’s master and crew at the earliest opportunity.
At Vroon, safety is a “way of being” and a mindset. We are committed to safe practices in all operations and everyday activities. With an industry-recognised behavioural-based training programme “Leaders in Safety”, safety is an integral part of our Company DNA.
VOS Glamour is the first of four field-support vessels with a revolutionary, wave-piercing bow shape, built for VOS at the Fujian Southeast Shipyard. She is one of 22 offshore-support vessels delivered to us as newbuildings between 2014 and 2016.
From left to right in the photo, MCA UK Customer Maritime Services Director Lars Lippuner, Stuart Thom and Virginia McVea (Picture courtesy of MCA)
