TRIBUTES have been paid to a quiet hero who braved typhoon-tossed seas to rescue hundreds of Vietnamese boat people from their stricken vessel.

Retired Merchant Navy captain Andrew Griffin, who last week lost his fight against cancer at the age of 55, made world headlines in 1978 when he plucked 346 men, woman and children from their vessel.

In a tricky operation lasting several hours, Mr Griffin took command of a lifeboat to transfer the refugees aged from four months to 83 years, to his cargo ship.

In an open letter to Mr Griffin and his fellow officers, the survivors wrote: "In the most dangerous circumstances, facing unfriendly elements and risking your own security, you came to save our lives at a moment when we had lost all hopes of survival and were inevitably to meet tragic fate."

His wife Pat Griffin of Chester-le-Street said: "He was a quiet brave man with a brilliant sense of humour and a big heart. He was always modest about his role, describing it as 'one of those things'."

Drew, as he liked to be known, was the second mate aboard the Wellpark in October 1978 when he spotted the distress flare of a boat carrying Vietnamese people fleeing the Ho Chi Minh City.

They had fled in three patched up boats, two of which had sunk, and all were crammed on the third. A number of ships had passed them by without stopping and many people had drowned.

Mrs Griffin said: "The master of the ship went to their aid and ordered a ship's lifeboat to be launched, which Drew swiftly volunteered to command. He was always one of those people who volunteered for everything.

"He said as they got alongside the vessel bundles of cloth were thrown at them. They soon realised they were babies and children they were catching. People were panicking. They were really rough seas and there were flames on the deck of the ship."

A training officer saw a man fall between the lifeboat and distressed craft. A contemporary account noted: "He felt sure this person could not survive. However the prompt action by the Second Officer (Drew) resulted in him pulling the man to safety in the boat. No one in the lifeboat is sure how he managed to accomplish this."

Mrs Griffin said her husband had told her he had leaned out the boat and pushed with his head against the sinking boat to keep the two vessels apart, as he pulled the man out.

At one point so many people were jumping into the lifeboat that it was impossible to get to the engine controls and water was being shipped over the gunwales.

Mrs Griffin said: "There were doctors and professional people on board. Drew was able to reunite a mother with her child, whom he let use his cabin."

Mrs Griffin said Drew had had an unusual start to life.

She said: "He was born in an isolation unit with tuberculosis and the Church would not christen him because of it. He was christened in a seamen's mission in a ship's bell which had been upturned and filled with water."

Mr Griffin returned with many other stories from the high seas. He delivered supplies to the Falkland Islands during the war. In the first Gulf War he pulled a screaming man out of the water after his boat had been hit by an Exocet missile only to find his lower half had been partly eaten by sharks. He comforted the man until he passed away. On several other occasions he jumped into the sea to rescue stricken sailors.

Mr Griffin leaves his children Carmel and Adam, son-in-law Shaun, and grandaughter Rebecca. A service was held at Birtley Crematorium on Wednesday.