ERRV M.V. Baki receives BP Presidents Award for safety in Azerbaijan

The M.V. Baki, an emergency recovery and response vessel (ERRV) was on-station at the Central Azeri platform in the Caspian Sea when the master received a call from the offshore installation manager informing him that a gas leakage was suspected and that all the 211 persons on the platform were to be evacuated. Within one and a half hours all personnel were safely transferred from the platform to the M.V. Baki and transported to the SPS Base in Baku Azerbaijan.

This is the largest evacuation of personnel from an offshore installation. The M.V. Baki has emerged with flying colours having completed such a monumental task flawlessly. The M.V. Baki is part of the fleet that Topaz owns and operates in the Caspian Sea region.

Fazel A. Fazelbhoy, Chief Executive Officer, Topaz Energy and Marine Ltd. said, "At Topaz, we constantly aim to deliver exceptional service. Like our clients, we too place a significant premium on safety, and particularly our ERRV crew is constantly trained to respond to emergencies. This successful evacuation in the Caspian Sea is a direct result of these policies."

The ERRV M.V. Baki which has a crew of 22 was built in 2005. It has 2 daughter craft, 1 fast rescue craft, fire fighting class 1 (2,500t per hr) and full medical facilities on board. The vessel meets the highest industry standards and has the ability to recover up to 300 persons.