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Holland America Line Receives Association for Rescue at Sea AMVER Award for ms Veendam’s 2015 Rescue of Airplane Pilot from Pacific Ocean

Sponsoredby the Association for Rescue at Sea, the AFRAS AMVER Award ceremony was heldat the U.S. Capitol

Seattle,Wash., Oct. 21, 2016– The captain and crew of Holland America Line's ms Veendam were honoredby the Association for Rescue at Sea with a prestigious AFRAS AMVER Award forthe 2015 rescue of a pilot who ditched his aircraft in the Pacific Ocean nearHawaii. The Automated Mutual Assistance Vessel Rescue System was implemented bythe U.S. Coast Guard in 1958, and the AMVER Awards were created in 1971 torecognize vessels that participate in the program.

HollandAmerica Line received the award at the annual Coast Guard Award Ceremony Sept.21, 2016, at the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. Veendam'sCaptain Eric van der Wal accepted the honor on behalf of the cruise line.

"The pilot rescue in the Pacific Ocean is a proud moment in our company history, and we are honored to receive the AFRAS AMVER Award fromthe Association for Rescue at Sea," said Orlando Ashford, Holland AmericaLine's president. "We are proud to support the AMVER motto, ‘No Call for HelpGoes Unanswered,' and on behalf of Veendam's captain and crew we thankyou for the recognition."

TheAMVER awards honor the heroism of those who take extraordinary measures toeffect a successful rescue at sea. On Jan. 25, 2015, Veendam rescued apilot 225 miles off the coast of Maui, Hawaii, whohad to ditch his single-engine aircraft after a malfunction with thefuel system. The plane had a parachute system, and thepilot was able to safely escape into a life raft from which he was retrieved byVeendam.

The ceremony was hosted by CaliforniaRep. Duncan Hunter, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Coast Guard andMarine Transportation, with additional members of Congress and the ViceCommandant, Adm. Charles D. Michel, of the United States Coast Guard and hissenior staff also in attendance.

TheAFRAS AMVER Award was inaugurated in 1996 by the nonprofit, charitable-statusAssociation for Rescue at Sea, which is devoted to supporting servicesconcerned with saving lives at sea and promoting the importance of safety inconcert with other maritime and aviation organizations. Selection criteria forthe award include seamanship, ship handling, degree of effort involved in therescue and the ship's initiative in responding.

TheAutomated Mutual Assistance Vessel Rescue System, or AMVER, which is sponsoredby the U.S. Coast Guard, is a computer-based voluntary global ship reportingsystem used worldwide by search and rescue authorities to arrange forassistance to persons in distress at sea.

Thiswas the third rescue at sea by a Holland America Line ship in 2015. On Jan. 3, msZuiderdam rescued eight crew members from a sinking vessel in theCaribbean, and on Jan. 4 ms Zaandam came to the aid of seven strandedcrew members at the Arctowski Polish research station at King George Island inAntarctica.

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