Thank you, DHL Express

On Saturday, 10 September 2022, Station 34 (Yzerfontein) celebrated the blessing of their new 8.8m rescue vessel Spirit of DHL II, named in honour of longtime supporter and sponsor DHL.

We would not be able to save lives, change lives and create futures without the support of our sponsors and partners. We thank DHL Express for their contribution to the NSRI as first a Platinum Partner and now a Strategic Partner.

“DHL has been an incredibly generous Strategic Partner in many ways,” says Stuart Moerdyk, NSRI’s Corporate Relationship and Retail Manager. “Because of this, we proposed to our executive that DHL be given the naming rights to one of the vessels in our fleet.” DHL’s annual donation by way of services is substantial, and “this was our way of saying thank you”, he adds.

DHL came on board in 2013, and the contribution the logistics company has made since then has been invaluable. DHL takes care of the NSRI’s courier needs locally and from time to time overseas as well. The company shipped the NSRI’s Gath helmets from Australia – these are critical for volunteers and form part of their personal protective equipment. DHL is also currently shipping mission-critical electronic equipment from the UK for the NSRI’s ORC project.

Over and above the shipping, DHL also sponsored the jackets for the Station Commanders Annual Conference in 2018, 2019 and 2022, helped get the ‘Team Sea Rescue’ cycle shirts project off the ground, sponsored the printing of NSRI’s Annual Integrated Report, and been integral in connecting the NSRI with the DHL Stormers and various other entities.

“DHL and the NSRI both identify with the colours red and yellow but the common thread that binds the two organisations together relates to our promise that we’ll be there when you need us. I think DHL identifies strongly with our volunteer ethos and the incredible passion and enthusiasm they bring to saving lives, and the fact that volunteer crews are always there when lives matter,” says NSRI’s CEO Dr Cleeve Robertson.

“The NSRI, in the same vein, has always depended on DHL being there to make sure life-saving equipment is available up and down the coast and in the four corners of South Africa. The relationship has, over the years, demonstrated tangible mutual value in lives saved and business economics,” he adds.

“The NSRI is proud to have DHL as a Strategic Partner and we are humbled by the impact their support creates. DHL connects us logistically with our service points while, at the same time, trying to achieve, like us, the right balance between environment, economics and society,” Dr Robertson concludes.

Thank you, DHL Express. Your support of the NSRI, first as a Platinum Partner and, more recently, as a Strategic Partner over the last nine years has been of tremendous value, and we look forward to more collaborations in the future.