Captain Radhika Menon of the oil tanker Sampurna Swarajya has been awarded the IMO award for bravery for her successful rescue mission in the Bay of Bengal after she saved seven stranded fishermen.
On the June 22, 2015, Captain Menon spotted seven fishermen and their boat, the Durgamma, had been carried away from their fishing spot at Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh, India, where they were left stranded without food or water; surviving on ice from the cold storage facility.
Captain Menon and her team risked their lives to bring the men to safety.
Captain Menon said in response to receiving the award: “I am humbled, honoured, and grateful. It is a maritime obligation to save souls in distress at sea and, as a seafarer and master in command of my ship, I just did my duty.”
There will be an official ceremony at the IMO headquarters in London on the November 21, 2016 to honour Captain Menon.