UNHCR Award
Lifts Up Rescue of Refugees at Sea
From UNHCR NGO Unit

The captain, crew and owner of the Norwegian container ship Tampa, which rescued 438 shipwrecked asylum seekers in the Indian Ocean last August, are recipients of this year's Nansen Award of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The formal presentation is set for June 20, World Refugee Day, in Oslo. The award includes a $100,000 prize for a refugee project of the recipient's choice.

The award is given annually to individuals or organizations that have distinguished themselves in work on behalf of refugees. Created in 1954, the award is named after Fridtjof Nansen, renowed Norwegian polar explorer and the world's first international refugee official.

According to the Nansen Award committee, Capt. Arne Rinnan of the Tampa, his crew and the ship's owner, Wilhem Wilhemsen Lines, demonstrated personal courage and a unique degree of commitment to refugee protection and the principle of rescue at sea. The two are often linked, the committee noted. Refugees fleeing persecution frequently use unseaworthy vessels in a bid to reach safety.

Despite the risk of substantial delays and a large financial loss to the company, Capt. Rinnan altered the course of the Tampa last August 26 to rescue the 438 asylum seekers. Also the ship is unequipped to carry a large number of passengers. Since 1977 vessels of the Wilhem Wilhemsen Lines have saved more than 1,300 people in various situations.

Previous recipients of the Nansen Award include Eleanor Roosevelt, King Juan Carlos I of Spain, Medecins Sans Frontieres, President Julius Nyerere of Tanzania and the People of Canada. Last year the award went to Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti.

Return to top | Return to LIRS homepage