The crew of the tugboat that went out in search of the crew of the New Nuts were honoured yesterday with a presentation at the Cabinet Office.

Transport Minister Dr. Ewart Brown said the crew of the Powerful had risked their own lives to go out into the stormy waters as part of the January rescue mission of the New Nuts, and they should be commended for their courage and integrity.

The New Nuts capsized in bad weather 70 miles off the Island, causing the deaths of Alan Edness and Micah Battersbee. The boat's captain, Bobby Lambe survived and was picked up after a 20-hour ordeal.

“Today, I want to take this opportunity to officially commend the members of the Marine and Ports Department for their efforts in pulling out all the stops to try and rescue our sons and return them to the Island as safely and as soon as possible,” said Dr. Brown.

“These men, crew of the tug Powerful, set out to assist in the rescue efforts and exhibited acts of courage and bravery on January 7, and should be recognised for it.”

Dr. Brown said also he wanted to acknowledge Bermuda Harbour Radio's Scott Simmons and Martin Williams, for their constant contact and guiding efforts to the US Coast Guard, as well as the crew of the tug.

“This commendation today provides a very important opportunity for our community to recognise and encourage those who are in the field of saving the lives of others,” added the Minister.

“Sometimes, their jobs go unnoticed, but today, I want to publicly thank them for putting themselves on the frontline to assist our sons, Micah, Alan and Bobby.

“Some might say these men were just doing their jobs, but I think that would be an inaccurate statement. It takes courage and conviction to put your life at risk and peril for the rescue of others and these men demonstrated that on January 7.”

Mr. Williams was at the presentation and said there were seven officers working at the RCC Bermuda, Bermuda Harbour Radio on that day and they each had played an integral role in the operation and afterwards.

He said they each knew the three fishermen involved and were all deeply affected by the incident, particularly the loss of Mr. Battersbee and Mr. Edness.

He said: “The operation went very well and we did have the satisfaction of finding one survivor. These fishermen weren't strangers to us; these were people that we worked with on a daily basis.

“It was very sad when we called off the search, but the area had been saturated for a number of hours and the possibility of survival for Mr. Battersbee and Mr. Edness was gone.”