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A 24-year-old from Devon has become the youngest person ever to receive the Merchant Marine Medal, after a daring rescue in the Caribbean.
Max Bingle, who was the third officer of the Sea Princess cruise at the time, will receive the prestigious award along with 19 other sailors, all recognized for their “outstanding service and contribution to the industry.”
Bingle was working on a world cruise ship and was sailing near Curaçao in the Caribbean when the ship received a distress call from the coast guard, saying there was a sunken ship about 60 miles from them with three men in distress.
The Sea Princess was sailing through the Caribbean when she received the distress call. Stock Image
“I was on the bridge with a superior officer when the call was received,” he told Sky News.
“It was a team effort, and we had to navigate to the last known position of the boat. There was a tanker waiting, but he was unable to retrieve the life raft.
“There was a coast guard plane heading us, and a mile away we went down into the rescue boat … and dropped into the water. Then we sailed about three-quarters of a mile to the life raft to retrieve the men.
“It was completely dark and a force eight gale.”
Bingle said he managed to get the men to his rescue boat, get them aboard the Sea Princess and take them to the medical center.
“As sailors, we get the best training and every two weeks we do a drill and it gets repetitive, but when it happens, you are grateful,” he added.
The entire ship, which had about 2,000 passengers on board, mainly Australians, had to turn around to carry out the rescue. The ship docked in Curaçao the next morning as scheduled, albeit six hours late.
Mr Bingle said that the award nomination came “out of nowhere”, adding: “It happened a year ago and I still don’t know who nominated me!”
“The medal for me is enough, I was just doing my job and it is good that they recognize me.”
Robert Courts, Minister of Maritime, said: “I am pleased to announce the winners of this year’s Merchant Marine Medal. They have all gone beyond the call of duty to provide invaluable service to our industry and our country.
“It is a special honor to present the medal to Max, its youngest winner. He showed incredible courage in saving three fellow sailors from drowning in rough seas, and this award is a recognition of his incredible altruism that night.”
Since his dramatic rescue, Mr. Bingle has stayed on dry land and studied in college to earn his qualification to become a second officer, and was due to begin his new role over the summer, before the pandemic brought him to a halt.
