Water Safety New Zealand presented Coastguard Dunedin president Lox Kellas with its annual prevention award at a ceremony in Wellington yesterday.
If not for the live-saving device placed at the cape last year, Dunedin residents David Moses, Cory Ferguson and Kane Harvey would probably be dead.
Mr Moses and Kane, his 15-year-old stepson, were swept off rocks and into the sea when fishing at Cape Saunders with Mr Ferguson and his nephew Micah Wharerimu (15) on May 27.
Mr Ferguson jumped into the water to save Mr Moses and Kane, while Micah retrieved the life ring, threw it in the water and alerted emergency services.
The three were winched to safety more than an hour later by the Otago Regional Rescue Helicopter crew, having floated with the life ring, which was not recovered.
Mr Kellas, who is also the Portobello policeman, welcomed the national recognition for Coastguard Dunedin.
He said the life ring was such a simple thing but it "paid dividends".
It was installed using a community board grant after the death of a man fishing at Cape Saunders in 2010.
Since the May 27 incident, a replacement life ring had been installed at the cape and another two had been donated to Coastguard Dunedin, which planned to put one at Puddingstone Rock and keep the other as a backup.
In early August, Mr Ferguson and Micah were awarded Dunedin Marine Search and Rescue and Water Safety New Zealand certificates for their efforts at Cape Saunders.
