The U.S. Department of Commerce has awarded its Gold Medal to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ship Oregon II, operated and managed by the Office of Marine and Aviation Operations, for heroic rescue efforts that resulted in saving three lives at sea off Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Feb. 28, 1999.

Jim Rowe, who serves as master (civilian captain) of Oregon II, was presented the award Dec. 7 by Commerce Secretary William Daley at a ceremony in Washington, D.C.

At the time of the rescue, Oregon II was 25 miles out to sea off Cape Canaveral, when a crew member spotted two men and one woman in the water, clinging to a capsized motor boat in stormy seas. The mariners, who had been unable to send a distress signal, had been in the water for about five hours, and probably would have perished if the ship hadn't passed nearby and seen them.

Oregon II at that time was commanded by Lt. Cmdr. Steve Thompson, NOAA Corps. It is currently under the command of civilian Master Jim Rowe of NOAA. The ship, home ported in Pascagoula, Miss., conducts fishery research in waters of the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean.

The Secretary grants the Gold Medal -- the Department's highest honorary award -- for extraordinary achievements in support of the Department's critical objectives. These achievements have a significant beneficial effect on the nation, and sometimes the world.