Download - LIFELINE April 2015 - English
The International Maritime Rescue Federation is a registered company limited by guarantee in the United Kingdom
and registered as a charity in England and Wales
Patron: Efthimios E. Mitropoulos KCMG, IMO Secretary General Emeritus
Registered office: IMRF West Quay Road Poole BH15 1HZ United Kingdom Company Registration Number: 4852596 Charity Registration Number: 1100883
www.international-maritime-rescue.org
LLIIFFEE LLIINNEE
The Newsletter of the International Maritime Rescue Federation (IMRF)
News… Experience… Ideas… Information… Development…
In this issue:
the huge SAR challenges presented by unsafe mixed migration by sea
more on the World Maritime Rescue Congress coming up in June
news from Sweden, Ireland, Iceland, Estonia, Indonesia, China & Sri Lanka
and more!
AApprriill
22001155
DDeecceemmbbeerr
22001100
DDeecceemmbbeerr
22001100
DDeecceemmbbeerr
22001100
DDeecceemmbbeerr
22001100
DDeecceemmbbeerr
22001100
DDeecceemmbbeerr
22001100
DDeecceemmbbeerr
22001100
DDeecceemmbbeerr
22001100
DDeecceemmbbeerr
22001100
DDeecceemmbbeerr
22001100
DDeecceemmbbeerr
22001100
DDeecceemmbbeerr
22001100
Disaster in the Mediterranean
More than 3000 people died in the Mediterranean in 2014. They were not passengers on cruise ships or airliners, who
we would hear more about. They were people the authorities call ‘mixed migrants’, meaning that, at least while they
were out there on the water, their legal status was uncertain. But they were trying to escape war, abuse, poverty. They
were the unlucky ones: more than 200,000 others were rescued. It’s a risk ratio that more and more desperate people
are willing to chance.
The picture above is, perhaps, symbolic: throwing bottles of water across a gap – a gap in SAR capability, a gap in
international policy. “The current search and rescue system,” says Koji Sekimizu, Secretary-General of the International
Maritime Organization, “Is not designed for this scale of mass rescue.” Some see a threat to the very principles of
maritime SAR. Mr Sekimizu is determined to address the problem. The IMRF supports his efforts. See page 6.
photo
photo courtesy Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS)
LLIIFFEE LLIINNEE AApprriill 22001155
www.international-maritime-rescue.org page 2
Editorial
Welcome to the latest edition of your newsletter.
The IMRF Secretariat are now fully engaged, with
a small band of enthusiastic helpers, on the
detailed planning for the World Maritime Rescue
Congress in June, and the SAR exhibition and
IMRF Quadrennial General Meeting that
accompany it.
We very much hope to see you there. You can
read more about it on pages 3 & 4 – and do not
miss our CEO’s summary of the IMRF’s strategy
for the next four years on page 5. Discussion of
this strategy will be one of the key parts of the
QGM. If you are in an IMRF Member organisation
it really is important that you attend and have
your say on what we should be doing next. And if
yours is a Full Member organisation, it is vital that
you are formally represented at the QGM so that
you can vote on the revised IMRF constitution
and elect the Board of Trustees who will guide us
through to 2019!
You can find much more on this on the IMRF
website, at
www.international-maritime-
rescue.org/index.php/homewmrc
Or, if you have questions, please contact us at
[email protected] or on +44 (0)1569 767405.
*
There’s a great deal more in this edition of LIFE
LINE than Congress & QGM, though, important
though they are, for the main work of the IMRF
has not stopped!
As usual there are articles about our Members’
activities from around the world, and there are
reports from our Asia-Pacific Regional Centre and
on our work at and with the IMO.
The latter includes our engagement on what is
clearly one of the most important SAR issues of
modern times – the response to unsafe mixed
migration by sea. Thousands of people are dying.
This must be addressed by the
international community. And
you can be sure that the IMRF
will play its part. See page 6.
Dave Jardine-Smith
Contents
Disaster in the Mediterranean ... 1
Editorial ................................ 2
Dates for the Diary ................................ 2
The World Maritime Rescue Congress ... 3
IMRF’s Quadrennial General Meeting ... 4
The IMRF in the next quadrennium ... 5
Busy year planned in Asia-Pacific ... 5
Migrants in distress at sea: time to act ... 6
A survivor’s view .................. 7
Saving lives through education ... 8
ICE-SAR ................................ 9
News from Estonia ................................ 10
A SAR plan for East Asia .................. 10
McMurdo Group partners the IMRF ... 11
NCSR2 ................................ 11
Sunbird ................................ 12
Keep in touch! ................................ 12
Radios at last ................................ 12
Send us your news & pictures ... 12
Dates for the Diary
SAR Europe Portsmouth, UK 21-23 April 2015
For details, see www.searchandrescueeurope.com
Australia and New Zealand SAR Conference
Jupiters Gold Coast, Australia 6 May 2015
For details, see sar.anzdmc.com.au
World Maritime Rescue Congress
Bremerhaven, Germany 1-4 June 2015
IMRF’s global congress and quadrennial general meeting: see page 3
IMRF Regional Mass Rescue Operations Workshop
Singapore 19-21 August 2015 For details, email [email protected]
International Civil Aviation Organization / International
Maritime Organization Joint Working Group on SAR
Trenton, Ontario, Canada 14-18 September 2015
For details, contact [email protected]
If you are planning a SAR event of international interest which you would
like to see listed here, please send the details to [email protected]
LLIIFFEE LLIINNEE AApprriill 22001155
www.international-maritime-rescue.org page 3
Subject-matter experts, managers,
coordinators, rescue unit crews and
other professionals from the
maritime SAR community around the
world will be discussing issues
ranging from migrants, social media
and training to unmanned systems,
funding, casualty care and
organisational development at the
World Maritime Rescue Congress
in Germany in June.
This major event, to be held from 1
to 3 June 2015 at the Atlantic Hotel
Sail City, magnificently situated
beside the River Weser in the centre
of the old port city of Bremerhaven,
will be hosted by the German
Maritime Search and Rescue Service
(DGzRS), and is a must for maritime
organisations involved, or likely to
become involved, in SAR on the
world's waters.
Organised by the IMRF, which has
112 member organisations from
around the world, the Congress is
held every four years. The last one,
in Shanghai, China, in 2011, was a
great success. The Bremerhaven
Congress is expected to be just as
good, and the biggest yet with 60
presenters and 16 workshops
planned, together with a major SAR
exhibition and other events linked to
the celebrations of the DGzRS’s 150th
anniversary.
The Congress will be followed, on 3-4
June, by the IMRF’s Quadrennial
General Meeting which all Congress
delegates are very welcome to
attend – see page 4. Altogether, you
won’t want to miss these four days!
The World Maritime
Rescue Congress 2015
Efthimios Mitropoulos, Secretary-
General Emeritus of the IMO and
IMRF Patron; Paul Boissier, Chief
Executive of the UK and Ireland’s
Royal National Lifeboat Institution;
and Martin Xuereb of the Migrant
Offshore Aid Station will be keynote
speakers at the 2015 Congress.
There will also be plenary
presentations on issues of central
importance to the IMRF over the last
four years and a look at the
challenges ahead.
The majority of the Congress,
however, will be given over to
workshops, running in three parallel
work-streams for delegates to
choose from: SAR organisation &
management; SAR coordination; and
SAR operations. The talks planned
under each heading are listed here.
- SAR organisation & management -
A ‘prevention’ workshop will include
talks entitled:
o To significantly impact the global
drowning figures, do we need to look
beyond just rescue organisations?
o Water safety training for children
o The application of risk
identification and black spot
models which target specific
behaviours that place people at
risk and high risk locations; and
o Boating education
A ‘development’ workshop will
consider:
o Ferry safety in the developing
world
o From a charity to a social business
o Is there a more effective structure
to deliver SAR than the traditional
departmental approach?
o Creating a 200-year-old start-up;
and
o Quick response to maritime and
riverine emergencies in Brazil
There will be a Fundraising and
budget allocation workshop,
including talks on:
o Is it possible to cut 15% of
revenue costs in 2 years and
deliver a better service?
o Governmental & non-
governmental model of funding
SAR service support
o How growing support from the
public has strengthened the
Swedish Sea Rescue Society’s role
in society; and
o Publicity and storytelling: the
power of stories, pictures and
social media to build under-
standing and support
And an ‘organisational culture’
workshop will consider:
o Building an organisational
culture
o Leadership and innovation in
high-risk teams
o In harm’s way: volunteers in
rescue service organisations; and
o Safety: get on board
- SAR coordination -
This work-stream begins with a
‘mass rescue operations’ (MRO)
workshop:
o The IMRF’s MRO project
o Unconventional solutions in
improving MROs: the Pella incident
o Prioritising operational procedures
in MROs
o Cooperation in MROs: the role of
the Local Incident Coordinator
o The importance of process-
optimised communication in
complex incidents; and
o The FIRST mass rescue project
A ‘databases’ workshop will look at:
o An international SAR portal
o Data on the high rate of death
due to drowning in Africa
o Modelling maritime casualty
investigation; and
o Surtsey: an open source for
projects, ideas and innovations
(continued on page 4)
LLIIFFEE LLIINNEE AApprriill 22001155
www.international-maritime-rescue.org page 4
(continued from page 3)
A ‘special cases’ workshop will
examine:
o An International Committee of
the Red Cross Commentary on
Article 27 of the 1949 Second
Geneva Convention
o Treaty provisions in times of
conflict – a SAR view
o Migration and loss of life at sea; and
o The ‘mixed migration’ problem
And a ‘communications’ workshop:
o The evolution of SAR in the
maritime world
o MEOSAR and second generation
beacons
o A close scrutiny of the global
maritime distress system
o Communication issues related to
SAR for MRCCs and provision of
SAR-related information to ships
o SAR operations: requirements in
the Global Navigation Satellite
System; and
o Crisis communication manage-
ment in the world of social media
- SAR operations -
This work-stream has an ‘unmanned
systems’ workshop:
o How might a SAR organization
benefit from using a system where
a central operator could remotely
launch and control small aircraft?
o Role of an unmanned aircraft
system in SAR operations; and
o Use of unmanned aircraft systems
in sea rescues
A ‘decision-making’ workshop will
consider:
o Research results: decision making
in maritime SAR; and
o Vessel triage: a new method to
enhance situational awareness
A ‘training’ workshop will include:
o An R&D project: ‘Maritime
Simulators Network’
o The use of simulators in training
of lifeboat crews and onshore staff
o Managing the risks of high speed
navigation during SAR operations
o Drills versus reality: stress
exposure training
o Training for rescue and recovery
in low cost and low technology
environments
o The IMRF crew exchange project
o A resuscitation course for rescue
craft crews; and
o An intuitive first-aid assistance
application for mobile devices
This leads into a ‘casualty care’
workshop considering:
o What happens during drowning
and how does this affect
resuscitation
o Development of an integrated
approach to Casualty (Patient)
Care; and
o Medical support by SAR crew,
strategic considerations
Finally, there are presentations on:
o KNRM Helps: an innovative
mobile app to help keep boaters
safe
o Responding to floods in low-
income countries: the development
of training materials for rescue and
humanitarian organisations
o The experience from a liferaft
exercise
o Mitigating the effects of Whole
Body Vibration on RNLI Lifeboats;
and
o China Rescue & Salvage - a well-
established trinity of response to
major marine incidents
The only real difficulty lies in
choosing between these fascinating
and varied talks and workshops!
If you haven’t already registered for
the Congress, do so now at:
www.international-maritime-
rescue.org/index.php/homewmrc
The IMRF’s Quadrennial
General Meeting
The World Maritime Rescue
Congress (see page 3) is also when
IMRF members gather for our
Quadrennial General Meeting, to
discuss progress over the last four
years and to plan for the next four.
If you are an IMRF Member, this is
your opportunity to have your say
on what we do next.
Everyone is welcome to attend the
QGM, and all IMRF Members are
encouraged to contribute to the
debate. As well as discussing our
strategy for the next four years and
beyond (see Bruce Reid’s article on
page 5), the QGM is also the place
where the IMRF conducts its most
important administrative business.
In 2015 this includes the proposed
adoption of revised Articles of
Association, and the election of a
new Board of Trustees. (For more
information, see www.international-
maritime-rescue.org, including the
February edition of LIFE LINE, in the
newsletter archive.)
It is particularly important that our
Full Members should read and
respond to the QGM paperwork
which has been distributed to them,
and which is also available on the
website. It is our Full Members who
are entitled to vote on IMRF
business, including the revised
Articles and for the Board who will
guide the IMRF through the next
quadrennium.
It is essential that all Full Member
organisations complete and return
a ‘Member’s Representative Auth-
orisation’ form before the QGM
begins. If you are your organisation’s
IMRF contact, please don’t forget!
And if you have any questions about
the QGM, the paperwork or your
membership status, please email
[email protected] without delay!
LLIIFFEE LLIINNEE AApprriill 22001155
www.international-maritime-rescue.org page 5
The IMRF in the next
quadrennium
As promised in our last edition, IMRF Chief
Executive Bruce Reid here introduces the
draft strategy for the Federation’s next
few years.
I wrote in February (see the newsletter
archive at www.international-maritime-
rescue.org), that the IMRF is an
evolving organisation, very different
to what it was when this
quadrennium began, in Shanghai in
2011. Together, we have achieved a
very great deal. But I also noted the
significant challenges that remain.
Over the last year our Trustees have
conducted a challenging and funda-
mental review, seeking to define
exactly what the IMRF should aim to
achieve and how it goes about that
task: our vision, purpose and strategy.
The new Board to be elected at this
year’s QGM (see page 4) should be
given a clear agenda to work on.
A strategic plan will be circulated to
our Members in the coming weeks to
allow QGM attendees to absorb the
direction and strategic approach
recommended by the current
Trustees.
It is important to note that the vision
and purpose of the IMRF have not
changed. We continue to seek to
prevent loss of life on the world’s
waters, to promote safety and to
provide relief from disaster
throughout the world by:
o promoting cooperation, exchange
of information, research and
development, advice and consult-
ancy between the maritime SAR
services of the world;
o encouraging and promoting the
formation and development of
maritime SAR services throughout
the world; and
o promoting public education and
awareness regarding safety on
water.
What will change is how we go about
achieving these vital objectives.
We believe that the most effective
way to achieve our vision is to focus
on our core area of skill: maritime
search and rescue. We can achieve
our aims through a combination of
policy influence and SAR capacity
building, supported by a high quality
knowledge database and by
prevention initiatives.
To do this the new strategy will be
supported by “five pillars”:
Increased representation, advocacy
and influence
Support and development for our
members and the global maritime SAR
community
Sustainable funding
Commercial consultancy services
on maritime SAR, helping global and
regional organisations, States and
maritime SAR organisations to design,
equip and test maritime SAR solutions
provided where possible through IMRF
members.
An effective IMRF with structures
that will support the development
and growth laid out in this strategy.
The plan is to align the increased
activity of the IMRF with a structured
strategy, prioritising the key work
flows and building resource to deliver
more to our members and the
maritime SAR community worldwide.
The IMRF has a unique position in the
world of maritime SAR, unhampered
by borders or politics. There is now an
opportunity to influence and drive
positive change to make the world’s
waters safer. The greater the support
we can generate from and for SAR
organisations the more effective we
will be.
Together, we are stronger.
Busy year planned for
IMRF in Asia-Pacific
The Trustees for the IMRF’s Asia
Pacific Regional Centre have
approved an ambitious work plan
for the next 12 months.
“After completing registration last
year we are now looking to build
maritime SAR support activity in
the Region,” says Captain Song
Jaihui, APRC Chairman. “The plan
will bring together many of the
SAR organisations in the Asia-
Pacific region for workshops and
combined training, delivering on
the APRC commitment made at
last year’s regional meeting.”
The year is off to a busy start with
the IMRF participating in an IMO
Regional Development meeting in
Indonesia (see page 10) and CEO
Bruce Reid giving a presentation
at the Association of South East
Asian Nations (ASEAN) Maritime
SAR Forum in Singapore. These
events provided opportunities to
discuss with senior maritime SAR
officials the type of support the
APRC can provide. Two themes
came through in particular:
preparedness for mass rescue
operations (MRO), and maritime
SAR management, administration
and coordination training.
The APRC is already advancing
three MRO workshops, with the
Philippines Coast Guard offering
to host an “in country” workshop,
and regional workshops in
Singapore in August and in China
in the last quarter of 2015. Add to
this up to three SAR training
courses and a regional develop-
ment meeting. The IMRF is
working hard in the region!
For more information on the MRO
workshops contact Mr Gu Yiming
– [email protected] – and for
SAR training Ms Qiu Jing:
LLIIFFEE LLIINNEE AApprriill 22001155
www.international-maritime-rescue.org page 6
Migrants in distress at sea: time to act
The IMRF has the mission of "preventing loss of life in the
world's waters". One of our principal concerns at the
moment is the pressing need to introduce more effective
SAR services to save the lives of the increasing number of
migrants in distress at sea. The immediate cause of these
incidents is unsafe and overloaded vessels and failure to
follow conventional safety procedures. The underlying
causes are increases in pressures that lead to migration –
it is said that one in seven people in the world is a migrant
– and the tactics adopted by callous smugglers, who are
essentially placing thousands of people in distress,
knowing that international law requires their rescue.
The IMRF recently made representations at a special
inter-agency meeting on the implications of unsafe mixed
migration by sea, hosted by the International Maritime
Organization (IMO). Our key points were:
Over 3000 lives were lost in 2014 – a figure that could
have been much higher – and 200,000 people in
distress were rescued by Governmental and non-
Governmental SAR organisations and merchant ships
Indications are that the number needing to be rescued
will escalate: the risks are apparently seen to be
acceptable to people desperate to migrate
Governmental funding of SAR services has reduced,
meaning that merchant ships had to save 42,000
people during 254 rescues in 2014
The International Convention for the Safety of Life at
Sea (SOLAS) and the International Convention on
Maritime SAR are not being honoured sufficiently: this
is of major concern to all IMRF members
Ships’ masters are required by SOLAS to rescue people
in distress if they can, yet people are deliberately
being placed in a position of distress, to trigger a
rescue response: this obviously places ships’ masters
in an invidious position
The current pressure on merchant vessels – vital SAR
facilities where there are no, or not enough dedicated
SAR units – is unsustainable and coastal States, and
States responsible for SAR in the regions where
migration takes place, must do much more to help
SOLAS and the SAR Convention place clear
responsibilities on coastal States; in particular the
State responsible for the SAR Region in which the
rescue is carried out
The unsafe mixed migration issue can only be
addressed ashore, at State and international level –
SAR services and merchant ships are caught in a
problem they cannot solve alone.
Referring to the inter-agency meeting in his opening
address to the Navigation, Communications and SAR
Sub-Committee at the IMO in March (see page 11),
Secretary-General Koji Sekimizu said: “The situation in
the Mediterranean is really worrying. If the rate of
growth was to follow the ratio from 2013 to 2014, this
year we would face 400,000 to 450,000 migrants calling
for rescue at sea. The current system is not designed for
that scale of mass rescue. Without additional measures,
ships cannot cope.”
The relevant UN agencies have agreed to establish a new
mechanism to address the issue; not duplicating the
efforts and functions of the UN’s Global Migration
Group, but complementing its work. The target areas are
the maritime phase of migration, aiming to:
o create a database on migrant smugglers;
o create an information sharing system for sea
migration incidents; and
o prepare information materials on the danger and
risks of unseaworthy sea passages, to be circulated
among migrant populations.
“The United Nations alone cannot solve the problem,”
said Mr Sekimizu. “The key is willingness and actions to
be taken by Governments,” coordinated by the IMO. “I
will raise this issue with IMO Member Governments with
a view to considering with them what can and should be
done by IMO – in particular, those issues falling within
the responsibility of this Organization, such as
preparation of necessary manuals and guidelines for the
shipping industry in dealing with mass rescue operations,
a common understanding of the definition of persons in
distress, the possibility of considering a better system to
ensure predictable disembarkation places, the cost to
the shipping industry, the legal aspects of mass rescue of
migrants, etc.”
It is abundantly clear that international bodies need to
work together with their member States to address
these issues positively and urgently. We must have:
Prompt and predictable disembarkation procedures
Consistency on what amounts to ‘distress’
Reinforcement of the existing obligations to rescue
people in distress at sea – especially State obligations
Proper management of migration, to tackle the black
market for 'people smuggling'
Increased support for coastal States who are
struggling with the numbers involved
Shared information, including vessel tracking.
The IMRF will continue to contribute to this work as and
when it falls within our remit to do so.
See also ‘MOAS launches urgent fundraising appeal’ on
www.international-maritime-rescue.org.
LLIIFFEE LLIINNEE AApprriill 22001155
www.international-maritime-rescue.org page 7
it easier to orientate to the horizon. The amount of
water in the SOLAS pack was more than adequate to
maintain healthy hydration levels for the 30 hours.
o Collision with larger vessels. Due to wind, wave and
current direction, the raft was anchored. This was to
prevent drifting through the heavily trafficked shipping
lanes between the West coast of Sweden and Denmark.
o Difficulty relieving oneself. Since this was not a real
life-threatening situation the participants tried to
maintain their personal hygiene by not urinating in the
suits, instead relieving themselves over the side of the
raft or in the baling container. Most were successful but
others had difficulty relaxing due to closeness with other
people and the motion of the ocean. This caused quite a
bit of discomfort and pain, even forcing one participant
to leave the exercise prematurely.
o Cramped conditions onboard. The lack of available
space for each person was surprising even to those who
have experienced life rafts before. All 11 participants
were piled together will the equipment making
movement extremely difficult. Every time someone had
to move, it required coordination and team effort. The
experiences of the claustrophobic conditions were
perhaps the biggest “take away” from the exercise. The
perception that the life raft cannot fit the amount of
people stated can perhaps be extrapolated to larger
survival craft. These vessels feel too small before they
are even filled to capacity.
The keys to success were teamwork, leadership and
positive attitude. It was impossible to duplicate the
psychological stress of a real emergency situation and
not knowing if one was going to be rescued at all. So a
positive attitude and lust for life was easily maintained
throughout the duration of the exercise. The leadership
onboard the raft was essential for the crew´s well-being.
By assigning tasks such as watch shifts and bailing water,
a sense of purpose was reinforced in every individual
that also strengthened the team feeling.
After 30 hours onboard the raft in various conditions,
half the crew was “rescued” by the Swedish Maritime
Administration SAR helicopter and the other half by the
Swedish Sea Rescue Society´s lifeboats, demonstrating
multi-unit cooperation and coordinated efforts.
A Survivor’s View experiences from a two-day life raft exercise
Matthew Fader of IMRF Members the Swedish Sea
Rescue Society (SSRS) writes:
Last May, the SSRS, together with Chalmers Institute of
Technology’s Maritime Human Factors department,
embarked on a unique life raft exercise. The purpose was
to study a prolonged stay in a SOLAS 12-person raft by
filling it with 11 people and leaving them in the raft
offshore, dressed in immersion suits, simulating the time
for a normal rescue operation in distant waters of
approximately 24-48 hours.
A date was chosen for the exercise regardless of weather
and sea-state conditions on the day which added to the
realism. It was what it was. This varied throughout the
two day project. At the time of the life raft launch there
were sunny skies, smooth rolling seas and a gentle
breeze with an air temperature of 15 degrees Celsius and
approximately 11 degrees in the water. The following
morning was cool, 6 degrees ambient temperature, gusty
28 knot winds and violent short-period meter-high waves.
Participants selected were physically fit and had
adequate maritime safety training. The most important
criterion for selection, however, was having a healthy
curiosity and a desire to experience several days in an
emergency situation so that one may apply this
knowledge when teaching others.
The test began aboard a boat sailing outside the
Gothenburg archipelago with a simulated alarm to
abandon ship. When the alarm sounded there was a
maximum of 15 minutes to be dressed in the survival
suits and be inside the life raft. The boat became the
surveillance ship for the remainder of the exercise. The
raft was then left without any external impact until the
search exercise began some 30 hours later.
There were several major concerns when the risk analysis
was performed prior to the exercise. The outcomes
varied somewhat from the original pre-conceived ideas
of what might happen.
o Dehydration related to vomiting & sea sickness. All
participants except one took the anti-motion sickness
tablets that were available in the SOLAS A-Pack as a
prophylactic after entering the raft. Surprisingly few
participants, 6 of the 11, became ill with motion sickness
to the point that they needed to vomit and all managed
to vomit outside the raft. It would have been a
completely different environment and outcome if
participants had vomited inside. The lack of precipitation
also allowed one of the canopy doors to be open, making
photo: Jeff Flindt
LLIIFFEE LLIINNEE AApprriill 22001155
www.international-maritime-rescue.org page 8
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you
can use to change the world” – Nelson Mandela
Bulgaria examined our system a few years ago and now
have a similar system of education in place which is also
endorsed by their Government.
Each country and rescue organisation faces its own
individual challenges but any effort made at all in terms
of the advancement of education, no matter how small
or basic, will save lives. It may not be as exciting as
driving a lifeboat into the teeth of a gale in the middle of
the night to effect a rescue but it can save more lives
than that lifeboat can.
As rescue organisations we
very often take the view
that education is somebody
else’s responsibility when
in fact we should all share
that responsibility and
contribute in whatever way
we can to educate members of the public in water safety
education. Measuring the effectiveness of education is
very much long term as you slowly see the number of
drownings decline in your own countries over a period of
five to ten years. There are also opportunities for
profiling the work of your organisation and in some
countries developing income streams from this work
through fundraising.
So perhaps in the run up to our quadrennial meeting in
Bremerhaven you might consider what your organisation
can do to advance water safety education in your
country. I will be very pleased to discuss the matter with
you and help you make progress – every little effort in
education save lives.
Local boys in Galway learning at an early age the
importance of wearing a lifejacket
Can our rescue organisations do more to
save lives through education?
I certainly feel that we can, writes John Leech of Irish
Water Safety (IWS). A large part of the work in saving
lives that IWS does is through education. The simple
diagram of a drowning triangle below highlights the
greater number of lives that can we saved at the bottom
of the triangle through prevention strategies rather than
through rescue or treatment interventions.
In our rescue organisations the main focus of what we do
is obviously on rescue. Those involved as volunteers very
much enjoy the buzz of the great work that they do and
the sense of fulfilment that it brings to their own lives.
There are many countries worldwide that do not have
any structured water safety education programme for
members of the public, or indeed any programme at all. I
feel that it is good for us to look at our organisations and
see if we can spend some time and small investment in
education. Your efforts are likely to save more lives
through education than you will through rescue.
Education is a broad term and can mean a lot of things to
different rescue organisations. Here in Ireland, we have
managed to have water safety placed on the Primary
School syllabus within our Department of Education. In
time, all children who have attended school will have a
basic knowledge of drowning prevention, survival, rescue
and swimming skills. In an island nation with thousands
of rivers, lakes, canals, streams, quarries, reservoirs and
wetlands these are essential life skills that everybody
should have.
There are details of our Primary Aquatics Water Safety
Programme at www.iws.ie/education/consumer-alert-
notifications.262.html.
With our permission, organisations are very welcome to
use it or adapt it as they see fit.
(Please note that we do not use hyperlinks in LIFE LINE: some
firewalls don’t like them. To access John’s link, cut and paste
into your search engine.)
LLIIFFEE LLIINNEE AApprriill 22001155
www.international-maritime-rescue.org page 9
Member Focus:
ICE-SAR
Jón Svanberg Hjartarson, CEO of the
Icelandic Association for Search and Rescue
(ICE-SAR) writes:
Following frequent maritime accidents and
loss of life around Iceland the National Lifesaving
Association of Iceland was founded in 1928 with a focus
on maritime rescue. The first formal rescue team was
founded in 1918 in the Westman Islands, at that time the
largest fishing community in Iceland. The association grew
and prospered in the local villages that had
experienced first-hand the perils at sea. In 1932
the first rescue team with roots in the boy-scout
movement was founded and in 1950 after the
successful rescue of the crew and passengers
from a crashed airliner on a glacier in Iceland
the first Air Ground rescue team was founded.
From their inception rescue teams in Iceland
have been driven by the passion and initiative of
volunteers and in 1999 the three rescue
associations merged and founded ICE-SAR.
Today all rescue teams in Iceland operate under
the ICE-SAR umbrella.
The role of volunteers in SAR is well established
internationally, but Iceland has developed an
ambitious and successful model where the ICE-SAR
rescue teams deal with all aspects of search and rescue
from the bottom of the ocean to the highest peaks on land.
Iceland has a relatively small police force and coast guard,
and does not have a military, so many conventional
community services usually provided by such entities are
handled by ICE-SAR. In fact ICE-SAR is the backbone of
the civil protection system in Iceland. Harsh natural
elements and the unforgiving and destructive geological
forces in frequent seismic activities, volcanic eruptions
and floodings provide ICE-SAR with ample challenges in
addition to conventional civil protection subjects.
There are 94 ICE-SAR rescue teams, all around Iceland.
The teams vary in size and capabilities but most handle,
in one way or another, a wide range of challenges and
maritime rescue is an important part of team activities.
ICE-SAR owns and operates 13 Lifeboats, most of them
ex-RNLI Arun-class. All the Lifeboat crews are volunteers.
The ICE-SAR teams have technical authority over their
crews but the Lifeboats operate under the legal
authority of the Icelandic Coast Guard, whose own
resources consist of three patrol vessels, a fixed-wing
Bombardier Dash and three Super Puma helicopters.
ICE-SAR has played a key role in accident prevention at sea,
operating the Maritime Safety and Survival Training Centre
since 1985. Its goal is to promote safety and survival
training, and according to Icelandic law, it is mandatory
for all seafarers and fishermen to attend courses there.
The knowledge imparted by
the Centre has, among
other things, resulted in a
considerable decrease in
the number of serious
accidents and fatalities at
sea in recent years in
Iceland, declining to a
record low. In 2008, 2011
and 2014 none occurred.
That is a great achieve-
ment for a maritime nation
when compared to the
great number of people
who perish at sea globally,
according to WHO statistics.
Many Icelandic seafarers and fishermen say that they
owe their lives to the Centre and the training provided.
ICE-SAR is proud of the role the association has played.
The key to the success of the Icelandic rescue teams,
both on land and sea, is that they are “owned” and run
by the volunteers. Iceland is populated by 320,000
people: there are 4,000 ICE-SAR volunteers on roster
24/7/365. For a volunteer organisation of this size to
thrive community support is of upmost importance. In
Iceland most employers provide the ICE-SAR volunteers
with leeway, either by allowing absence on pay or
flexibility to attend to callouts. The general public is also
very conscious of the importance of ICE-SAR and is
supportive, both financially and morally.
The rescue associations that form IMRF vary in size and
function, ranging from fully volunteer to fully paid
professionals. It is my opinion that for the next four years
IMRF focus should be on the volunteers and how to
develop and grow volunteer-based SAR capabilities
worldwide. IMRF should lead such initiatives, for example
with consultation on financing and fundraising, crew
exchange programs, information exchange etc. The
opportunities are out there and we all can contribute, to
the benefit of all who use the sea.
LLIIFFEE LLIINNEE AApprriill 22001155
www.international-maritime-rescue.org page 10
partnership in maritime rescue. It
gives us possibilities to participate
in the development of various
strategic plans in Estonia, and to
have some state financing.
We have a busy schedule for 2015 –
seminars, at least 5 basic safety
training groups, trainer-training
courses, participation in the Tallinn
Boat Show, a maritime rescue
competition, and regional sea fairs
and festivals. Our organisation will
also be the official safety partner for
two large sailing events this year –
and we would like to participate
fully in IMRF activities too; the
World Maritime Rescue Congress in
Germany and the European regional
meeting in Åland.
Unfortunately we do not have any
regular financing yet. Only minor
funding is provided by the State for
training and equipment, therefore
we depend a lot on projects. This year
will see the completion of a small
cooperation project with Finland
and Denmark under the Nordplus
programme, and the IMRF Crew
Exchange project financed under the
Leonardo programme. We are also
eager to participate in a new
training project under Erasmus+.
Finally, we have started to prepare
a new project application to the
Central Baltic programme on devel-
opment of cooperation between
small ports and maritime rescue
organisations – and we are happy to
have a partner in this: the Åland
Island Lifeboat Society.
News from Estonia
Ene Kalmus, Chairman of the Board
of the Estonian Voluntary Maritime
Rescue Organisation, writes:
The voluntary non-governmental
umbrella organisation, Estonian
Voluntary Maritime Rescue, was
created in April 2010 in cooperation
with 6 voluntary maritime rescue
stations (Toila, Käsmu, Lohusuu,
Mustvee, Pärnu, Paatsalu) and the
Adult Training Organisation Teave.
By January 2015 we had 18
voluntary units that are able to offer
independent and fast support
services on the Baltic Sea (within 30
miles from base), on Lake Peipsi (to
the Russian border) and on inland
Lakes Saadjärve, Võrtsjärve and
Kuremaa. Altogether we have 350
volunteers. The newest member of
the organisation is the Tallinn SAR
Team, established by three local
yacht clubs in Tallinn. The Estonian
Yachting Union is also in the process
of joining the organisation, further
expanding our cooperation with the
leisure boating community.
During 2009-2013 our rescuers had
155 missions, rescued 132 people
from life threatening situations and
provided technical assistance to 458
persons. In 2014 the volunteers
responded to 42 calls and organised
over 130 different safety and
educational activities.
On 14 January we signed an
agreement with the Ministry of the
Interior as a document of official
A SAR Plan for East Asia
The International Maritime Organi-
zation (IMO) held a regional seminar
on the implementation of the Global
SAR plan in East Asia in Jakarta,
Indonesia, in February. The event
was hosted by the Indonesia SAR
Agency, BASARNAS. The IMRF were
represented at the event.
Representatives of government org-
anisations with SAR responsibility
from Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia,
China, Indonesia, Japan, Laos,
Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Papua
New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore,
Thailand, Timor Leste and Viet Nam
each gave a presentation explaining
their SAR systems and challenges.
IMO speakers explained SAR
obligations, the current state of
ratification of the SAR Convention
and the delimitation of SAR regions
in East Asia; gave updates on
GMDSS and the Cospas-Sarsat
system; and discussed SAR
cooperation, maritime awareness,
the harmonisation of aeronautical
and maritime SAR, and other
international developments.
Other speakers discussed the pros
and cons of the Joint Rescue Co-
ordination Centre (JRCC) approach;
the AirAsia crash; the ongoing
search for Malaysia Airlines’ MH370;
and the IMRF’s Mass Rescue
Operations Project.
The States represented agreed a
number of recommendations in
conclusion, including ratification of
the SAR Convention and informing
the IMO of SAR and communication
capability; establishing bilateral and
multilateral SAR agreements as
appropriate; developing training
and exercise programmes; and
requesting technical assistance as
necessary to assess existing capa-
bility and provide recommendations
for improvement, including as
regards SAR training.
LLIIFFEE LLIINNEE AApprriill 22001155
www.international-maritime-rescue.org page 11
McMurdo Group partners
the IMRF
McMurdo Group, the global leader
in end-to-end SAR and maritime
domain awareness solutions, has
become the first search and rescue
technologies and solutions provider
to join the IMRF as an Associate
Member. By partnering with the
IMRF and our members around the
globe, McMurdo will be able to help
develop a more cost-effective rescue
capability to meet ever-growing
challenges, especially those presented
by mass rescues at sea.
McMurdo Managing Director Justine
Heeley (seen here accepting an IMRF
plaque from Bruce Reid) says: "In 2014
alone we saw a large number of
incidents costing the lives of
thousands of people. As a business,
we share the same goal as the IMRF
and are proud to be able to
contribute to the goal of 'preventing
loss of life in the world's waters'.”
*
Our new partnership with the
McMurdo Group is an example of
the way the IMRF seeks to bring
together all aspects of the SAR
world, to everyone’s mutual benefit.
We remain just as focussed as we
have always been on the real roots
of SAR – people saving lives as best
they can, with whatever equipment
they can afford – but we need to
keep in touch with the other parts of
the SAR spectrum too.
Techno-Sciences Inc, for example, part
of the McMurdo Group, announced in
January that it had been selected by
several more governments to deploy
SAR network infrastructure solutions
and next-generation MEOSAR
(Medium Earth Orbit Search and
Rescue) systems worth nearly €5m.
When fully deployed, MEOSAR will
provide improved emergency beacon
coverage and reliability. TSi customers
now include organisations making
major MEOSAR installations around
the world.
*
Some readers will be aware that the
IMRF recently assisted McMurdo
Group and another IMRF Associate
Member, Transas (a major provider
of marine navigation and professional
training systems), with a market
research project on the potential use
of simulation in planning and
training for mass rescue operations
and other complex maritime
incidents, and for testing that
planning and training.
This project was a worked example
of one of the ‘pillars’ of the strategy
our CEO refers to on page 5: the
provision of commercial consultancy
services, both as a means of
improving maritime SAR – our
primary aim – and of generating
some income to help support the
work we do.
The IMRF Secretariat takes this
opportunity to thank those
Members who took part in the
research project. Its results are now
being considered by the principals;
and will remain confidential, as
agreed with all concerned, including
the many respondents.
The IMRF will only engage in
projects such as this when we see a
clear potential gain for SAR:
improved major incident response in
this case. The results will often be
for others to implement, as here.
NCSR 2
The International Maritime Organi-
zation (IMO) is not renowned for
giving its organs catchy titles – but
the Sub-Committee on Navigation,
Communications and Search and
Rescue (NCSR) is the highest
technical body dealing with SAR at
the international, United Nations
level. The IMRF represents the
world’s maritime SAR community
there, having IMO consultative
status – and we attended the
second meeting of the recently re-
structured Sub-Committee in March.
This session approved amendments
– several of which had been
proposed by the IMRF – to the
International Aeronautical and
Maritime Search and Rescue
(IAMSAR) Manual, the next edition
of which will be published in 2016.
IAMSAR is the central international
guidance on establishing, managing,
coordinating and carrying out SAR
services. It is important to get it right!
We will let you know when the new
edition is published. And remember
that, like any IMO publication, IMRF
Members will be able to buy it (in
hard-copy or electronic formats) at
a 20% discount through our online
bookshop, at www.international-
maritime-rescue.org.
Among a great deal of other work,
NCSR 2 also considered the ongoing
review of the Global Maritime
Distress and Safety System – the
GMDSS; something else which is
vital to SAR people’s work.
There is concern that some existing
GMDSS systems are outdated. The
IMRF is keen to ensure that, as they
are reviewed and improvements are
proposed, it must be the user who is
kept clearly in mind: the person in
distress or needing safety inform-
ation, and the person who responds
to those needs. User-friendly
communications are essential!
LLIIFFEE LLIINNEE AApprriill 22001155
www.international-maritime-rescue.org page 12
LLIIFFEE LLIINNEE
Keep in touch!
There are now even more ways to
keep in touch with what is
happening in the world of maritime
SAR and the activities of the IMRF.
In February we moved onto
Facebook, building our community
through regular updates including
“Flashback Fridays” when we share
the results of trawling 90 years of
archives to bring to the surface
interesting moments for SAR, the
IMRF and our predecessor, the
International Lifeboat Federation.
Our first Flashback Friday told of the
IMRF’s humble beginnings as a
quadrennial International Life Boat
Conference supported by the RNLI.
In 1932 that conference was held in
Holland. One of the items in the
conference report can be seen on
our Facebook page. Communicated
by Sir George Shee, it is a message
to all lifesavers from the Pope and
Benito Mussolini (!) who were both
impressed by the universal reach
and importance of the lifeboat
services of the time. Get on line,
read the piece, ‘like’ us and we will
keep you informed with new
snippets now and then.
The IMRF can also be followed on
Twitter and LinkedIn, and all of this
is supported by our updated web-
site and of course this bi-monthly
newsletter, LIFE LINE, which comes
to your in-box as a pdf or can be
downloaded from the site, and also
appears in edited form on-line,
translated into 6 languages.
But if all else fails, email us or give
us a call. We are here to help!
Radios at last
Readers with long
memories may recall that,
some three years ago,
IMRF Members the UK’s
Maritime and Coastguard
Agency kindly donated
over 100 handheld VHF
radios for distribution
through our ‘Members
Assisting Members’ scheme. Many
of these units have been helping
save lives around the world ever
since. But not quite all of them.
Sometimes bureaucracy can be a
slow business – and radios are
subject to quite a lot of border
bureaucracy! But we get there in the
end, usually. We recently heard from
Asanka Nanayakkara, Secretary-
General of the Life Saving
Association of Sri Lanka, letting us
know that the 11 units allocated to
LSASL have finally been delivered.
The arrival of the radios, wrote
Asanka, “really sent a buzz through
the entire team and everyone
connected with our association. The
generous support of fellow IMRF
Members helps us continue in our
mission and to assist those in danger
in our community.”
People say that ‘a little goes a long
way’. And so it does – eventually!
Sunbird
Working out of the IMRF office in
Shanghai recently, CEO Bruce Reid
had the opportunity to discuss the
emerging challenge the China
maritime rescue services are facing
with recreational boating.
Bruce met Sunbird Yacht Manu-
facturing Company General Manager
Mr Mingyi Wu, in Zhuhai in the
southern province of Guangdong. As
well as building commercial and
recreational craft Sunbird have just
registered a Foundation to establish
a volunteer rescue service. This
decision was made because of the
increasing number of recreational
boats on the local waters.
Zhuhai has ideal conditions for
recreational boating. It has an
average temperature of 23 degrees
Celsius, allowing for the use of boats
almost throughout the year. There
are 146 islands and a coastline of
690 kilometres. It is close to Macao
and Hong Kong, which have more
than 10,000 registered yachts, and is
in the Pearl River Delta, one of the
richest areas of China.
With the increasing traffic on the
water, there is pressure on the
current maritime emergency response
services, so establishing a volunteer
service to assist the authorities is
seen as a priority by Mr Wu.
It is early days for the Foundation
and they are keen to join the IMRF
to take advantage of the knowledge
our members have in building a
volunteer organisation and also the
training of volunteers to respond to
recreational boaties in distress. With
the support of Sunbird the wheels
are in motion.
And finally...
We hope that you have found this
issue of LIFE LINE informative and
interesting. If you would like to
contribute articles and pictures
about your news, projects, events,
ideas or lessons learned, please
contact [email protected]