Military Sealift Command’s (MSC) rescue and salvage ship USNS Salvor (T-ARS 52) was awarded the 2018 MSC Maritime Excellence Gold Team Award, Apr. 18, during a ceremony at MSC Far East headquarters in Singapore.
The Maritime “E” is presented annually to government-owned and operated ships which demonstrate the highest standards of readiness.
"It's a great honor to be recognized as the winner of the Military Sealift Command Maritime Excellence Award for Gold Team,” said MSC Capt. Peter Lenardson, Salvor’s master. “Crew members from both past and present have been grateful to have served on this vessel and contributed to Salvor's success.”
Salvor regularly conducts salvage, diving, towing, offshore firefighting, heavy-lift operations and theater security cooperation missions. It is one of only two rescue and salvage vessels in the MSC inventory and the only ship of its kind in the Far East.
“Salvor has been exceptionally ready to answer the call this last year in terms of both material and personnel readiness,” said U.S. Navy Capt. Robert Williams, MSC Far East commodore. “They routinely operate in some of the most challenging environments in the Seventh Fleet area of responsibility.”
Salvor conducted multiple operations this year, including a mission in Palau and Papa New Guinea in support of the Defense Prisoner of War and Missing in Action Accounting Agency mission. The ship also successfully removed approximately 229,000 gallons of oil from the sunken German World War II vessel Prinz Eugen, located in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands.
“Despite the challenges that arose on each of these missions, the combined crew of Salvor coordinated and overcame each of the unique situations," said Lenardson. “To many of them, this is more than a job or an assignment. They have a vested interest in the ship and place a tremendous sense of ownership and pride into the work they do--and their contributions have been noticed.”