Nominations are now being accepted by IMO for the 2019 IMO Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea. According to the IMO website this annual Award was established "to provide international recognition for those who, at the risk of losing their own life, perform acts of exceptional bravery, displaying outstanding courage in attempting to save life at sea or in attempting to prevent or mitigate damage to the marine environment".

To assess the nominations an Assessment Panel is constructed of members from non governmental organisations in consultative status with IMO, under the chairmanship of the Secretary-General. This panel scrutinises the submissions and subsequently a panel of judges (made up of the Chairs of several IMO bodies) meets to consider the recommendations of the Assessment Panel and to select the recipients.

Nominations for the Award should be made by United Nations Member States, intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental organizations.

Such nominations should be addressed to the Secretary-General and should provide a full description of the circumstances and events giving rise to the nomination. The Secretary-General would be most grateful if nominations of candidates to be considered for the 2019 Award (for actions performed during the period 1 March 2018 to 28 February 2019) could be sent as soon as possible in order to reach IMO by no later than 15 April 2019

For more details of how to nominate someone for the 2019 Award please email [email protected].