LIFE LINE
February 2014
December 2010 The Newsletter of the International Maritime Rescue Federation (IMRF) December 2010 News… Experience… Ideas… Information… Development… December 2010 In this issue:
a New Year’s message from the IMRF Chairman rd the 3 IMRF international mass rescue conference – book now! news from the Baltic, China, the Atlantic, Russia, Vietnam and Iceland and more!
December 2010 December 2010
December “Mayday, Mayday, Mayday... This is the cruise ship Nonsuch. Have been in collision...2010 Sinking... Abandoning... Seven thousand five hundred people aboard...”
December
Not a message anyone in SAR wants to hear, of course – but one which you might hear one2010 day. So: the question is:
Are you ready for the worst...?
December 2010
There were 2,224 people aboard the Titanic when she struck that iceberg in 1912, and 4,252 aboard Costa Concordia when she hit the rocks off Isola del Giglio one hundred years later. There were 989 people on the December Estonia when she sank the Baltic in 1994 – and so the grim tally continues. All terrible disasters, 2010 all with lasting consequences; all a terrific search and rescue challenge.
December 2010 December 2010 December 2010 And ships keep getting bigger. There are cruise ships afloat today able to carry well over 8,000 people. December Catastrophes involving such ships are mercifully very rare – but clearly not impossible.
2010
It’s therefore necessary for maritime SAR professionals (in the wide sense of the word) and, indeed, for all professional mariners to be ready to respond to such appalling accidents. The planning and training materials December which the IMRF mass rescue operations project team are gathering will help with that – and so will the third in 2010 our series of international conferences on the subject: see page 4.
December 2010 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, Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization, 2004-2011
December 2010
Registered office: IMRF West Quay Road Poole BH15 1HZ United Kingdom Company Registration Number: 4852596 Charity Registration Number: 1100883
www.international-maritime-rescue.org
December 2010 December
LIFE LINE
February 2014
Editorial Welcome to the latest edition of your newsletter – and, on behalf of all of us in the IMRF Secretariat, let me wish you all the very best for 2014! As our Chief Executive, Bruce Reid, wrote in our December edition, and as our Chairman, Michael Vlasto, writes in his New Year message on page 3, there is a great deal going on in the IMRF – and there is a very great deal more to do. We want an effective search and rescue service covering all the world’s waters. That’s a lot to want. And it will take a lot to achieve it. But, working together, we can get there – and working together is what the IMRF is all about. There are lots of examples of this in this edition of LIFE LINE. Have a look at the stories from the Baltic, West Africa and Russia on pages 5 and 10, for example. And you can join in, of course! Read about our mass rescue conference on page 4, and attend it if you possibly can. Mass rescue operations don’t work unless we can cooperate and coordinate; and that means preparing as well as responding together. Cooperation and coordination – working together – require good communications. Good communications don’t just happen: they need to be worked at too. Which reminds me to remind you of a couple of things! First, you may recall that in August last year I noted in this column the change in IMRF Secretariat email addresses. All our addresses now end @imrf.org.uk – which is much quicker to type than the old format! So, for example, the main email address for the Secretariat is info@imrf.org.uk. For news items, use news@imrf.org.uk.
Contents Ready for the Worst? ................................. Editorial ................................. Dates for the Diary ................................. Our Chairman’s New Year Message ... rd The 3 IMRF mass rescue conference ... Baltic Sea Maritime Incident Response ... IMRF Chairman visits China ................... Life Saving Association of Sri Lanka ... SAR Matters ................................. In the water: two salutary tales ................... Deep-sea SAR off Africa ................... A Lifeboat for Kronstadt ................... “Rescue ships need to be rescued” ... Inmarsat wins Australian award ... “Mayday, Mayday...” ................................. A Nicer Sub-Committee? ................... Kiwi Coastguard honoured ................... Were your Christmas presents damp? ... Send us your news & pictures ...
Dates for the Diary ‘Gothenburg 3’: the next in the IMRF’s mass rescue operations conference series 1-3 June 2014 Hosted by the Swedish Sea Rescue Society. See page 4.
Drowning Prevention Week
Please check that you have deleted our old addresses (...@international-maritime-rescue.org) from your address books: they are no longer in use. The second reminder is to do with links like the email addresses above. Any links in LIFE LINE are not active. This is to avoid problems with your computer security settings. To use such links, please copy and paste them into your email or search engine. And finally let me remind you, please, to share this newsletter with your friends and colleagues, in SAR or out of it. The more people know about what is being done to improve global SAR, the better. You can ask us to add people to our (free) distribution list, or they can subscribe online, at www.internationalmaritime-rescue.org. Previous editions can be downloaded there, too, with many articles translated into French, Spanish, Arabic and Chinese. Just click on the ‘Newsletter’ button... Dave Jardine-Smith
1 2 2 3 4 5 5 6 7 9 10 10 10 11 11 12 12 12 12
21-29 June 2014
Organised by the Royal Life Saving Society UK. See www.drowningpreventionweek.org.uk.
IMO Sub-Committee on Navigation, Communications and Search and Rescue 30 June - 4 July 2014 Attended by the IMRF. See page 12.
Rescue 2014
17-19 October 2014 Hosted by ICE-SAR in Reykjavik, Iceland. See www.icesar.com/rescue.
IMRF European Regional Meeting
30-31 October 2014
Hosted by Royal Netherlands Sea Rescue Institution (KNRM) in IJmuiden. For details, contact info@imrf.org.uk.
World Maritime Rescue Congress
1-4 June 2015
Advance notice of the IMRF’s next Congress and quadrennial general meeting. Details in due course.
If you are planning a SAR event of international interest which you would like to see listed here, please send the details to: news@imrf.org.uk
news@imrf.org.uk www.international-maritime-rescue.org
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February 2014
A New Year’s Message from the IMRF Chairman Text Michael Vlasto writes:
As the IMRF increases its membership and its capability to do more it is essential that we prioritise our actions to make best use of the resources we have. The IMRF is a growing organisation with a big heart and a relatively small budget so we need to balance our enthusiasm and make a difference where it will be most effective. Make sure you’re in Bremerhaven to have your say!
Dear Friends: welcome to our first newsletter of 2014. In his review of 2013 our Chief Executive, Bruce Reid, outlined what a busy year it had been. I would like to begin by thanking everyone involved; particularly you, the Members, but also my fellow Trustees, the Secretariat and all those who have assisted in moving the IMRF forwards as an international NGO. A lot has been achieved, but there is much more to do. 2014 is already presenting some exciting challenges. I recently attended the first Board meeting of the IMRF Asia Pacific Regional Centre, in Shanghai (see page 5). Our China Rescue and Salvage colleagues, until recently led by IMRF Trustee, Captain Jiahui Song, have provided an excellent resource which will assist us in developing relationships, facilitating training and improving cooperation and communications in the Asia Pacific Region. This is the first IMRF Regional Centre to be established: we will be monitoring its progress closely as it may well provide a model for others elsewhere in the world. What else is the IMRF focussing on? We are in the final planning stages of ‘G3’: the third in our series of Mass Rescue Conferences, again being hosted in Gothenburg by one of our staunchest members, the Swedish Sea Rescue Society. These conferences have grown in stature as the issues raised gain more attention (Costa Concordia!) and generate an increasing momentum for change. You will find more detail of what is proposed on page 4. Our Rescue Boat Guidelines project is nearing completion; our Water Safety Awareness and Education project is gathering way, and, in Europe, our Crew Exchange project is proving a major success. My thanks again to all those who have worked so hard to make these successes possible.
www.international-maritime-rescue.org
Our global SAR development work also continues to make real progress. The IMRF is all about improving maritime search and rescue the world over, and many projects and initiatives are under way. The work done by our Regional Coordinator in North and West Africa, Mohammed Drissi, and his colleagues both in the region and in the wider IMRF family is a great example (see page 10).
At the Trustees’ next meeting in March we will be reviewing all this progress since the 2011 Quadrennial General Meeting and the strategies required for the four years following the 2015 QGM, which will run alongside our next World Maritime Rescue Congress, to be held in Bremerhaven, Germany, 1-4 June 2015. There we will look at what has gone well, what has not gone well and what the lessons are that we have learned over the last few years.
A new Board of Trustees will be elected at the QGM, too. I hope this will result in a good balance of new blood and existing experience to ensure continuity. The current Board has a particularly strong operational focus which has served us well during the evolution of the IMRF from the ILF: I recognise this, and warmly thank my fellow Trustees for their hard and devoted work in making the IMRF the success it is. The 2015 election will be a real opportunity to refresh and broaden the Board’s skills base, to continue to serve the IMRF as it grows. Should any of you wish to be considered as an IMRF Trustee, please contact Bruce Reid at b.reid@imrf.org.uk. A general description of the process for becoming a trustee can be found at www.charitycommission.gov.uk/trust ees-staff-and-volunteers/trusteerole/becoming-a-trustee. Finally, following my retirement from the RNLI last July, I have been able to do more with the IMRF, which I have found to be rewarding, challenging – and sometimes very frustrating! There is so much work to do to really improve global maritime search and rescue, and we have only limited resources with which to do it. But wherever I go I meet dedicated and hardworking people with a passion for reducing the loss of life in the waters of the world. Through closer cooperation, better facilitation and the wider sharing of knowledge and experience we can make a truly significant difference together. Thank you for your on-going support.
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Here’s the latest on our planning of the International Mass Rescue Conference to be held in Gothenburg, Sweden, on 1-3 June 2014. This will be the third in the well-established ‘Gothenburg series’ of conferences on maritime mass rescue operations, organised by the IMRF and hosted by the Swedish Sea Rescue Society: a major event which we are sure you will want to be part of! Major incidents severely test all responders’ capabilities; even more so when rescue or relief efforts involve operations on the water. The 2010 and 2012 conferences in the Gothenburg series, and the 2011 World
Maritime Rescue Congress in Shanghai helped to highlight and address many of these challenges. The 2014 Conference will include:
February 2014
The 2014 conference will also include: Consideration of the problems of towing and recovery from an ‘ark’type survival craft live exercises, which you can take part in or observe as you wish!
‘G3’ the third IMRF International Mass Rescue Conference
Gothenburg 1-3 June 2014
A unique mass rescue simulation exercise (an ‘optional extra’, on st Sunday 1 )
An opportunity to contribute to the IMO's and the IMRF's mass rescue operations guidance the outcomes of this conference will feed into the IMRF’s on-going mass rescue operations project
Book your place now! Go to www.internationalmaritime-rescue.org and follow the G3 links
Mass rescue case studies, including the response to the Costa Concordia case; a major exercise report; and a survivor’s story
an ‘open space’ event – you can discuss any aspect of mass rescue operations that you wish to bring to the forum
the IMO and other interested parties have asked the IMRF to help improve international mass rescue guidance
be on the bridge of a ship responding to a mass rescue incident! participate in, or monitor, the complex response to a mass rescue incident, using the multiship simulator at Chalmers University
Discussion of mass rescue issues with representatives of the passenger shipping industry, search and rescue authorities, and emergency response organisations
you can be a part of all this!
Overall, the conference will focus on developing and sharing practical solutions to the problems inherent in mass rescue operations by: o integrating the preparation and planning efforts of all stakeholders, including industry o enhancing incident coordination and establishing supportive response systems o improving cohesion between all stakeholders to optimise response capability
discuss and learn from real-life experience
If you are in the shipping or offshore industries or emergency response organisations at sea or on land, you should attend this key event.
better prepare yourself for a mass rescue operation that you may be involved in!
Details? Go to www.internationalmaritime-rescue.org and follow the G3 links. See you in Gothenburg!
www.international-maritime-rescue.org
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February 2014
IMRF Chairman visits China IMRF Chairman Michael Vlasto was in China in December, to complete the formalities of registering the IMRF’s office in Shanghai – the IMRF AsiaPacific Regional Centre (APRC) – and to receive the prestigious Silver Magnolia Medal presented to him by the Shanghai Municipal Government (see LIFE LINE, October 2013).
Baltic Sea Maritime Incident Response IMRF Chief Executive Bruce Reid writes:
In November I attended an international seminar organised by the Finnish Border Guard in Espoo. The seminar analysed the preparedness of States in the region for large-scale and multi-sectoral maritime accidents. It was part of a project which the Border Guard is implementing in cooperation with the Finnish Ministry of the Interior's Department for Rescue Services. Maritime SAR officials and representatives of other key authorities attended, with nine out of the eleven BSMIR countries represented at the event.
The seminar acted as both an opening ceremony for the BSMIR project and a forum in which sector experts and authorities from different countries could update their view of the Baltic region's preparedness. These targets were definitely achieved, and the event also offered both Finnish and foreign participants a unique opportunity to network with officials from other countries. The BSMIR project seeks to identify opportunities to develop international cooperation. The seminar revealed that, although different countries' maritime SAR tasks are organised differently, each has very similar aims in their preparedness and planning efforts. It also became evident that countries share a desire to engage in more cooperation with other Baltic Sea States. www.international-maritime-rescue.org
Neighbouring countries already have bilateral agreements and engage in joint drills and diverse maritime SAR cooperation projects, on the bases of which it would be good to develop more extensive forms of cooperation. When it came to international cooperation, seminar participants identified a particular need to develop international-level leadership for cooperation between authorities, and to standardise operational procedures for maritime multi-sectoral accidents. The operational procedures of States that participate in the management of multi-sectoral accidents should be at least partly compatible to ensure safe and effective SAR operations. The creation of standardised operational procedures also requires shared concepts for maritime SAR. This was one of the seminar's main themes of discussion. Specialised included:
topics
Mr Huang Rong, Deputy SecretaryGeneral of the Municipal Government, who presented the award, said how much he appreciated the support Michael had given through the promotion of cooperation in the area of maritime SAR development between China and the IMRF. In reply Michael expressed the IMRF’s gratitude for the support the Municipal Government and the Shanghai Urban Construction and Communications Commission had provided in relation to saving lives in their waters. “I would also like to thank the China Rescue and Salvage Bureau and Donghai Rescue Bureau for their support in establishing the IMRF APRC in Shanghai,” he said. “We will continue to work to strengthen our coordination and cooperation, so that we can jointly increase the safety of life at sea and reduce the loss of lives in the world’s waters.” The APRC was first established following the IMRF’s World Maritime Rescue Congress in 2011, and now serves as a focal point for SAR development in the region.
covered
o managing ship fires chemical accidents;
and
o the requirements placed on preparedness by cold conditions; o maritime first aid; and o cooperation among authorities during mass evacuations. The seminar was a great success, and will lead on to further useful and important work. The IMRF is pleased to be a part of the process.
Michael Vlasto and IMRF Trustee Song Jiahui (centre), with (left to right) the APRC’s Zhang Rongjun and APRC Board members Wang Zhenliang, Director General of China Rescue & Salvage, and Lu Dingliang, Director General of the Donghai Rescue Bureau page 5
LIFE LINE
Member Focus: The Life Saving Association of Sri Lanka
February 2014
year-on-year. However, in some instances, beaches, lakes and bathing tanks can be hazardous, with members of the community taking to the water with limited or no knowledge of water safety issues.
In the October 2013 edition of LIFE LINE we reported on an event hosted by new IMRF Members the Life Saving Association of Sri Lanka (LSASL). The meeting was a great success, attended by some 40 regional coordinators, rescue volunteers and other SAR service representatives. Now LSASL Secretary General Asanka Nanayakkara writes to tell us some more about his organisation.
One of the biggest lifesaving and water safety activities that the Association organises, apart from its regular activities for the furtherance of community water safety, is the safety programme we run during the Poson Poya religious festival. Poson Poya is one of the most important religious ceremonies for Buddhists in Sri Lanka. It is ritually celebrated in the month of June especially, in an ancient city called Anuradhapura. The area is full of water tanks and satisfies the sanitary requirements of the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims who arrive during the festive season for their religious sacraments.
We are the national body for lifesaving and water safety in Sri Lanka, conducting many programmes in water safety and drowning prevention. These projects are mainly focused on schoolchildren in our country. We are the only body authorised to conduct such programmes in Sri Lanka. The Life Saving Association of Sri Lanka is affiliated to the International Life Saving Federation (ILS), Commonwealth Life Saving (Royal LS-UK), and now the IMRF, and is an approved Sri Lankan charity. We are also registered with the Ministry of Sports and the Ministry of Social Services as a not-for-profit sporting and welfare body.
LSASL respectfully engaged with the water safety issue and arranged a programme to ensure safety during the festival. We deployed a crew of 200 unpaid lifesavers, with 400 paid lifeguards also coming in from all over the country. The primary objective of this programme was to save people from drowning. The secondary objective was to conduct training sessions for the beginners and schoolchildren who live in the vicinity of Anuradhapura.
From the day the Association started its activities, in 1947, it has recorded over 4000 lives saved in various water distress situations. We are very proud to acknowledge that we have trained over a million members from the public sector including schoolchildren, armed and police forces, free of charge as an important part of our activities.
The training sessions include the methods that we use in first aid, resuscitation and other lifesaving techniques. The Association has been fully engaged in this humanitarian service for the last 20-plus years, with the full support and appreciation of both government and non-governmental organisations. This time around at Poson Poya, the Association managed to save EIGHT valuable lives.
The LSASL is well supported by Surf Life Saving Australia. Improving beach safety is one of our primary objectives: this will help to develop tourist activities in turn, a major focus of Sri Lankan government and non-governmental organisations. Sri Lanka has a coastline of 1,340 km, with many pristine beaches where safety is at a higher level www.international-maritime-rescue.org
For further details you can log in to our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Life-Saving-Associationof-SriLanka/166303900127836 or visit our website, www.srilankalifesaving.lk. page 6
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SAR Matters This column provides a forum for LIFE LINE readers worldwide to contribute to debate on any relevant SAR issue. You can join in, or propose new items for discussion, by emailing news@imrf.org.uk. Or you can have a look at previous discussions in our Newsletter Archive, online at www.international-maritime-rescue.org. Every LIFE LINE since 2010 is available there for free download. In ‘SAR Matters’ in our December 2013 edition (see the website!) IMRF Trustee Hamish McDonald discussed the challenges of improving the safety, security and wellbeing of artisanal fishery communities – challenges for the ‘developed’ entities trying to help and the indigenous communities themselves. He now proposes a methodology and programme aimed at addressing these challenges.
February 2014
In conjunction with all stakeholders review and identify viable and enforceable operational and safety measures Facilitate the stakeholders in implementing the agreed operational safety programme Promote a system to incentivise incident reporting Enable ‘train the trainers’ programmes 3. Management and operation of fit-for-purpose, viable and sustainable policing and emergency response resources Develop liaison between the relevant stakeholders to promote fit-for-purpose, viable and sustainable policing and emergency response resources In conjunction with all stakeholders review and identify management and operational issues in need of enhancement In conjunction with all stakeholders review and identify viable and implementable enhancement processes, procedures and systems Promote further development of liaison and interaction with all stakeholders Enable ‘train the trainers’ programmes Establish a process to continuously assess and validate the Fisheries Management, support and training programmes
The programme I propose aims to deliver all-inclusive support mechanisms that promote: 1. Management and operation of artisanal fishery and process of its product in a sustainable and viable manner Develop liaison between the relevant stakeholders to facilitate a Fisheries Management Policy that maximises the sustainability and viability of the artisanal fishery Establish an environment and system to increase the quality and value of fish caught and processed locally Involve the women and children of the community and empower the best use of their skills and influence to promote the key components and processes Enable the provision of the necessary vocational education and training support Enable ‘train the trainers’ programmes. 2. Cultivation and adoption of a maritime safety and awareness culture that is fit for purpose, viable and sustainable Develop liaison between the relevant stakeholders to facilitate a viable and sustainable maritime safety culture Involve the women and children of the community and empower the best use of their skills and influence to promote the key components and processes In conjunction with all stakeholders review and identify operational and safety issues www.international-maritime-rescue.org
The programme methodology is: Phase 1 Region profiling review and analysis 1. Definition of relevant requirements assess existing situation define deficiencies assess expectations define realistic sustainable outcomes define requirements to enable achievement of the desired outcomes 2. Definition of local culture and society considerations (cultural and societal analysis and mapping) social strata, customs and taboos lines of responsibility in decision-making and management networks, interrelationships and interactions (continued on page 8) page 7
LIFE LINE (continued from page 7)
influences, both positive and negative attitudes to changing existing ways levels of educational and technical ability current infrastructure levels
3. Definition of achievable and sustainable deliverables must be fit for purpose suited to the local environment, culture and wishes suited to long term local support cost efficient to local budgets conducive to local management, maintenance and operation. This approach provides an end user with a complete methodology which enables self-propagation and maintenance and natural progression from external to full internal system support, while continuously affording the highest level of end user capability and potential.
February 2014
To support these lines of defence, provision of advisors / trainers who have proven experience and skills in the development of relevant, sustainable and viable maritime safety awareness practices in relation to artisanal fishery, including maritime safety and survival; boat building, engine and equipment maintenance; and communications and navigation aids. 3. Management and operation of fit-for-purpose, viable and sustainable policing and emergency response resources Provision of advisors / trainers who have proven experience and skills in the development of relevant, sustainable and viable crisis / disaster management; maritime policing and protection; and emergency response and SAR resources. The deliverable benefits of such a support programme are:
Phase 2 Delivery of advisory / training support
Enhanced sustainability and viability of the artisanal fishery sector
1. Management and operation of artisanal fishery and process of its product in a sustainable and viable manner
Enhanced expectations for employment within the sector
Provision of advisors / trainers who have proven experience and skills in the development of relevant, sustainable and viable artisanal fishing techniques, and the handling, processing and marketing of artisanal fishery products. 2. Cultivation and adoption of a maritime safety awareness culture that is fit for purpose, viable and sustainable It is generally accepted that the effective approach to safety at sea everywhere in the world, at all levels, relies on three lines of defence: Prevention is the most important line of defence and will save most lives if properly managed. Information and awareness building, and the provision of suitable and affordable equipment and training to assist fishermen and other seafarers make informed decisions will help them avoid getting into trouble in the first place. Survival and self-rescue is the result of well-managed prevention activities. Someone in distress will make the best use of the skills, training, equipment and attitudes necessary to survive and carry out selfrescue when things start to go wrong. Emergency response is the last line of defence, built on systems of alert, search and rescue which are called on when the first two lines of defence have failed.
www.international-maritime-rescue.org
long
term
viable
Enhanced safety and security of the fishers Reduction in the number of reasons to turn to crime, extremism, migration, piracy, trafficking and /or terrorism Reduction in the risks to national economy, safety, security and wellbeing It is my opinion that in relation to the programme outlined the IMRF could provide highly beneficial support. The IMRF has to be geo-politically and geo-commercially aware, whilst being neither geo-political nor geo-commercial itself. It is valued in its advisory capacity to the IMO and has gained acceptance for its role of bringing the world together to strengthen the capability and knowledge needed to save lives in the world's waters. Its greatest strength lies in the depth and variance of knowledge and experience of its members from around the world. This knowledge and experience transcends the perspectives and capacities of the ‘developed’ and the ‘developing’ world as well as the multitude of administrative and operational components within the maritime sector. By drawing from this overall pool of awareness and capability, the IMRF would be very well suited to provide meaningful and beneficial input to a programme that aims to facilitate all-inclusive beneficial change to the safety, security and wellbeing of artisanal fishery communities and the sectors associated with them.
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February 2014
In the water: two salutary tales Two lifesaving stories for you: one in which, at first, there seemed little hope, and one in which, at first, there seemed little risk. In both cases knowledge and skill saved a life. We can learn a few lessons. In January a BBC documentary told the story of a young student who fell into the North Sea from a DFDS ferry one September night. “I just remember being near the barrier, looking out to sea and looking down,” she said. “I don't know whether I leaned too far or the ferry moved or there was a gust of wind, but the next thing I knew I was falling.” She fell some 18 metres into a cold, rough sea. “My first memory is being above the water and seeing the ferry and it was already quite far away. It was the worst feeling I've ever had in my life – just being completely alone. I remember shouting after the ferry, asking for it to come back, and at once the sheer terror kicked in... I never gave up. I did definitely come to the realisation that my time was up, but I don't think even then I ever gave up, I was always going to try for that not to happen.” The student had some luck on her side. She survived the fall; friends who had been with her on deck immediately raised the alarm; and the ferry had an excellent crew. Captain Andreas Kristensen takes up the story: nd
“I was in my office when the 2 Officer told me there was a man overboard. To be honest, I expected that it would be extremely difficult, perhaps impossible, to find anyone in the water, since it was already night-time and it was quite some sea. You feel a huge responsibility and urge to find her, but still you know that you are looking for that needle in a haystack.” The student had no detection aids. Capt Kristensen turned his ship and launched his rescue boat. He also called for helicopter assistance, knowing that the aircraft was fitted with infrared cameras. And he told his passengers and crew what was happening. It was people on deck who first spotted the student in the water – it is possible that they heard her cries before they saw her – and a team of paramedics among the passengers made themselves known to ship’s staff. They treated the student after the rescue boat had recovered her and before she was airlifted to hospital as a precaution. She herself remembers nothing of her recovery from the sea: it is clear that she would not have survived much longer. The lessons? The swift and thoroughly seamanlike response of the DFDS ferry’s crew was exemplary. To get back to the man-overboard position requires navigational skill, and not all ships will launch rescue craft at night or in poor conditions. This crew was well-trained and ready. The use of passengers and crew as extra lookouts has been debated in the past – you have to be sure that overwww.international-maritime-rescue.org
excited passengers will not put themselves in danger while trying to help, and you have to have a system for dealing with their reports – but it proved its worth here. Keeping the passengers fully informed also produced important additional resource in the shape of the paramedic team. Capt Kristensen’s knowledge of the SAR services available to him locally, and his early alerting of them, provided a very effective ‘Plan B’. And, last but not least, the student’s own attitude helped save her life. She knew the danger, but she did not panic: she did not give up. That added time to her survival: just enough time... We are grateful to Mario Vittone for our second story – see his blog at mariovittone.com. He tells of a skipper who dived fully-clothed into the sea to swim fast towards a couple splashing in the water between their anchored sportfisher and the beach. “I think he thinks you’re drowning,” the husband said to his wife. “We’re fine, what is he doing?” she asked, a little annoyed. “We’re fine!” the husband yelled – but the skipper swam straight between them. Directly behind them, not ten feet away, their daughter was drowning. “Drowning doesn’t look like drowning,” says Mario. It’s not the violent splashing and cries for help that TV has taught us to expect. “Drowning is almost always a deceptively quiet event.” In this case the child did not utter a sound until the boat skipper pulled her from the water. Mario cites Dr Francesco A Pia’s description of the Instinctive Drowning Response, in the United States Coast Guard’s On Scene magazine (Fall 2006 edition – see www.uscg.mil/hq/cg5/cg534/onscene.asp): Except in rare circumstances, drowning people are physiologically unable to call out for help. Breathing takes precedence. Drowning people’s mouths are not above the surface of the water long enough for them to exhale, inhale, and call out for help. Drowning people cannot wave for help. They instinctively extend their arms laterally and press down on the water’s surface. Drowning people cannot control their arm movements. They cannot stop drowning and perform voluntary movements such as waving for help, moving toward a rescuer, or reaching out for a piece of rescue equipment. From beginning to end of the Instinctive Drowning Response people’s bodies remain upright in the water, with no evidence of a supporting kick. Unless rescued, they can only struggle on the surface of the water for 20 to 60 seconds before submersion occurs. “Sometimes,” says Mario, “The most common indication that someone is drowning is that they don’t look like they’re drowning. They may just look like they are treading water. One way to be sure? Ask them, ‘Are you alright?’ If they can answer at all, they probably are. “But if they just return a blank stare, you may have less than 30 seconds to get to them.” page 9
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February 2014
A Lifeboat for Kronstadt Deep-sea SAR off Africa The IMRF and the IMO have been helping to develop SAR capabilities in North and West Africa. That work is showing great results. IMRF Regional Coordinator Mohammed Drissi, writes:
On 9 December the Regional Operational Centre for Monitoring and Rescue (CROSS) at Gris Nez, France, contacted the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Dakar, Senegal, to report a distress signal from the French yacht Yeo.
IMRF Members the Russian Voluntary Maritime Rescue Society, “Kronstadt’, took delivery of a ‘new’ rescue boat in November – a 52-foot Arun class allweather boat formerly operated by the Finnish Lifeboat Institute, and bought for the Society by a company sponsor, Fertoing Ltd. Kronstadt’s need for such a vessel had been identified during a RussianFinnish European Commission Project, ‘Development of rescue operations in the Gulf of Finland’: see www.merikotka.fi/rescop.
The 7 metre sailing boat had two French nationals aboard. She had a very limited ability to manoeuvre due to the breaking of one of her two rudders. This happened 604 nautical miles west of Mindelo, in the Cape Verde Islands, and 1136 nautical miles northeast of Guyana. With good coordination between MRCC Dakar, MRCC Praia (Cape Verde) and CROSS Gris Nez, a cargo ship called Kujawy was diverted to rendezvous with Yeo. MRCC Dakar maintained contact with the two vessels throughout, updating them every hour, mainly regarding their relative positions and also to reassure those in distress. Thus, on 10 December, the Yeo’s two crew were safely taken aboard the Kujawy. The cargo ship continued her journey to the port of Vila Do Conde in Brazil, where she arrived on the 14th December.
Kujawy www.international-maritime-rescue.org
The boat has now been lifted out of the water for the rest of the Russian winter. Kronstadt chairman Igor Kalinin says: “Our organisation has made a big step ahead in our development. Next summer we can start full-scale training and take part in some rescue operations!” What Igor now required was training material in English. The IMRF got in touch with Cleeve Robertson, CEO of South Africa’s National Sea Rescue Institute, who did not hesitate to assist. The two organisations are now in correspondence with each other: another classic case of our ‘Members Assisting Members’ scheme helping to improve SAR worldwide. Founded in 2008, Kronstadt’s forty volunteers have been operating three smaller boats, including two rescue RIBs, as well as engaging in winter rescue operations. The Arun will greatly enhance their capabilities.
“Rescue Ships Need To Be Rescued” So ran a headline on Vietnam’s Tuoitrenews website in late November. The point the writer was making was that – good as Vietnam’s seven purpose-built SAR vessels are – they are not quite fit for purpose. Tuoitrenews quoted the director of the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre at Vung Ta, Pham Hien: “It is so difficult to rescue just 50 miles off the coast. The difficulties multiply the farther away from the coast you are.” The Netherlands-built ships are ‘state-of-the-art’, but are designed for relatively short missions in different sea conditions to those found off Vietnam’s 3,200 kilometres of coast. Their range is limited; they cannot refuel at sea; and they are sometimes adversely affected by the sea conditions they encounter. “However, the biggest challenge our SAR team faces is not to compete with high waves and strong winds,” says Hien, “But with time. Saving a life is hundreds of times more valuable than finding a body. But each ship has to cover a vast area.” “They can work at full capacity within 25 miles of the coast. But in Vietnam, SAR ships have to go ten times further.” There is therefore a constant problem of having to return to shore to pick up fuel. The IMRF’s Rescue Boat Guidelines project is designed to help with this sort of thing (see LIFE LINE, October 2013 – which you can download free from www.international-maritime-rescue.org).
The Guidelines will help SAR providers to assess their actual rescue boat needs, and to choose equipment accordingly. What works brilliantly in one part of the world will not necessarily do so in another...
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LIFE LINE
Inmarsat wins Australian award IMRF Associate Members Inmarsat’s expertise as safety at sea and satellite communications experts has been recognised by the Australian Government with an award from AMSA – the Australian Maritime Safety Authority – for playing its part in helping save an estimated 27,000 lives over the past 12 months. Michael Barton, of Rescue Coordination Centre Australia, commended the team at Inmarsat’s Network Operations Centre for their work. He described the challenges faced by SAR crews who respond to a variety of distress beacons, often from refugee boats trying to make their way to Australia from Indonesia or Sri Lanka. Once the position of the refugee boat has been established, AMSA aircraft assess the seaworthiness of the vessel and drop a vital kit pack which includes Inmarsat’s IsatPhone Pro. “We’ve been using the IsatPhone for nearly two years now and it has helped us save thousands of lives in that time. It is affordable and light, yet still robust,” said Mr Barton. “Once contact is made, AMSA vessels direct the boats to Christmas Island, unless the boat is deemed unseaworthy, when we take the people off to avoid a disaster. “There are normally not enough life jackets for everyone and no lifeboats, and the refugees are packed shoulder to shoulder. In the past 12 months, we’ve rescued nearly 450 vessels. That’s about 27,000 lives that have been directly saved in partnership with Inmarsat.”
Claudio Galli, Inmarsat’s Director of Global Service Operations, shows Michael Barton the Network Operations Centre in London www.international-maritime-rescue.org
February 2014
“Mayday, Mayday: yacht Falado von Rhodos sinking...” Oddur Arnar Halldórsson, coxswain of Icelandic Lifeboat Einar Sigurjónsson, writes:
At 2320 on 8 August 2013 the brigantine Falado von Rhodos sent out a distress call reporting that she was leaking, 16 miles westnorthwest of Garðskagi in Iceland. There were 12 people on board. JRCC Reykjavík received the message and immediately relayed it to all ships in the area. Lifeboat Einar Sigurjónsson and rescue team RIBs from Hafnarfjörður, Sandgerði, Garður and Suðurnes were called out, as well as the Coast Guard‘s helicopter TF-GNA. Weather conditions were easterly winds, 25 knots, fair visibility and sea state 6-7 on the Beaufort Scale. At 2335 the yacht reported that her main engine was down and her bilge pumps were not working: the crew were pumping by hand. At that time Einar Sigurjónsson and the 10 metre RIB Fiskaklettur were leaving Hafnarfjörður harbour with portable pumps. Two trawlers near Falado von Rhodos reported that they were heading to the scene but that they did not have portable pumps on board. One of the trawlers launched its rescue boat but it could not get close enough to the yacht to be able to help. Shortly after, the Coast Guard helicopter arrived, but the crew assessed the situation to be too dangerous for winching because of the brigantine’s movement: the crew would have to be evacuated to a liferaft first. The decision was made to wait for the Lifeboats, the first with an ETA of 0100. The helicopter stood by at an airport five minutes away. When the first RIB, Gunnjón from Garður, arrived, the brigantine had begun to list to port and Gunnjón’s crew considered it almost impossible to get aboard – but it was thought the yacht would sink within the hour if nothing was done.
Einar Sigurjónsson
The RIB Njörður tried to get a towline to the yacht so it could be towed towards Einar Sigurjónsson, which had the pumps. But the yacht‘s crew did not understand what to do with the line. Fiskaklettur arrived just after 0200 and was able to get a man with a portable pump on board. Pumping started at once. The yacht’s crew were poorly dressed, wet and cold – and it was only now discovered that there were seven children aboard.
The RIB Thorsteinn from Sandgerði began transporting them to Einar Sigurjónsson for shelter. The children recovered quickly so it was decided to make an attempt to salvage the yacht by towing it to Sandgerði. A line was connected to the Lifeboat and the bilge pumping continued; but flotsam clogged the pumps. After several attempts to clear them, the rescuers and the remaining crew evacuated the yacht. The tow was very slow: if the Lifeboat went faster than three knots the yacht took on a lot of seawater and the stern immersed in the sea. The kids were getting cold and many of them were seasick. So it was decided to cut the towing line and the yacht sank shortly after. The rescued crew were landed safely at 0600. 18 ICE-SAR rescuers took part in all: the five groups’ smooth cooperation shows the importance of well-trained personnel and reliable equipment. page 11
LIFE LINE
February 2014
A ‘Nicer’ Sub-Committee? Regular readers may recall that the International Maritime Organization – the IMO; with which the IMRF has consultative status, representing the world of maritime SAR – has been going through a process of reorganisation, including a trimming-down of its technical Sub-Committee structure (see LIFE LINE, August 2013). That process has included the amalgamation of two existing Sub-Committees (‘NAV’ and ‘COMSAR’) into one: the rather clumsily named Sub-Committee on Navigation, Communications and Search and Rescue – ‘NCSR’, for short. Can this be read as “nicer”...? Anyway: the first meeting of the new Sub-Committee is scheduled for 30 June - 4 July. NCSR will continue to be closely supported by the ICAO/IMO Joint Working Group on SAR (see LIFE LINE, October 2013 – back copies of the newsletter are freely available on our website, www.international-maritime-rescue.org). But
combining the work of two busy Sub-Committees into the time available for only one is clearly going to be a challenge! It’s a challenge the IMRF is up for, though. We will continue to play a full and active role at the IMO, particularly at NCSR and in the Joint Working Group, representing you, our Members, and doing our best to ensure that all SAR matters brought to the IMO are given full and thorough consideration. Remember that we do represent you. If an IMRF Member has a SAR concern of relevance to the IMO, you can talk to us about it as well as to your national representatives. Have a look at our policy paper on the website – in the IMO section of the Members’ Library – and then contact us at info@imrf.org.uk.
Kiwi Coastguard honoured Congratulations to IMRF Trustee Brooke Archbold, who has been made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the Queen’s New Year Honours List; a testament to his valuable and dedicated contribution to Coastguard New Zealand over the past 30 years. The Order of Merit is awarded to “those persons who, in any field of endeavour, have rendered meritorious service to the Crown and nation or who have become distinguished by their eminence, talents, contributions or other merits". While Brooke thoroughly deserves this honour for his work at home, we like to think that it recognises his international work on the IMRF’s behalf too. Well done, mate!
Were your Christmas presents damp this year...? Santa Claus and a penguin were rescued from the sea off Cornwall, in the UK, at Christmas. They had left Marazion in a toy inflatable boat, without lifejackets, and were paddling towards Penzance. But Falmouth Coastguard received a number of calls from concerned members of the public when they were seen to be drifting out to sea. Santa and his feathered friend were rescued by the Penlee RNLI inshore lifeboat, and were landed safely at Newlyn. Our thanks to our Cornish colleagues: your Christmas gifts may have been a little damp this year – but at least they were delivered!
And finally... We hope that you have found this issue of LIFE LINE informative and interesting. We know that there is much more going on among IMRF’s membership that could be reported here, to the benefit of all – but we rely on you, the reader, to tell us about it! LIFE LINE and the IMRF website need you to provide their contents – your news, your projects, your events, your ideas, your lessons learned. We also need your pictures, please: good quality pictures (more than 250 kB, if possible) of your SAR units – boats, ships, aircraft, RCCs etc. These will be used in LIFE LINE and on the website – but are also needed for presentations and to accompany press articles about the IMRF and its worldwide work. Please send articles and pictures (or links to them, with formal permission for them to be used for IMRF purposes) to news@imrf.org.uk Let’s spread the word, for the benefit of all at risk on the world’s waters.
LIFE LINE www.international-maritime-rescue.org
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