LIFELINE June 2013 - English

LIFE LINE

June 2013

December 2010 The Newsletter of the International Maritime Rescue Federation (IMRF) December 2010 News… Experience… Ideas… Information… Development…

December 2010 In this issue:     

December 2010

Costa Concordia – the SAR response News from Malta, Portugal, the UK, the Caribbean, Burma and the Philippines Planning mass rescue operations workshops and the next IMRF mass rescue conference December Revised search time guidance 2010 and more!

December 2010

Buy your new IAMSAR Manual from the IMRF bookshop – and save 20%!

As LIFE LINE goes to press, the publication of the 2013 edition of the International Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue Manual – the IAMSAR Manual – is imminent. IAMSAR is the key international document for SAR people. It is published by the UN’s International Maritime Organization (IMO), with an updated edition every three years. The 2013 edition contains many amendments to the existing 2010 guidance.

Since you are reading this, you may need a copy of at least one of IAMSAR’s three volumes on your bookshelf... And you can make a significant saving if you order through the IMRF’s new bookshop, set up to distribute IMO publications at a significant discount to IMRF Members.

December 2010 December 2010 December 2010 December 2010

Our bookshop is a virtual one, and the books can be too, if you wish. The IMO December publishes over 200 titles in English, with many translated into French, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese and Russian – and many 2010 of these titles are available in various electronic formats as well as hard copy. See www.imo.org/Publications for details.

IAMSAR Volume I discusses the global SAR system concept, establishment and improvement of national and regional December SAR systems and cooperation with neighbouring States to provide effective and economical SAR services.

It’s priced at 2010 £25 – but that’s reduced to £20 by the IMRF discount. Volume II assists personnel who plan and coordinate SAR operations and exercises. Volume III is intended to be carried aboard rescue units, aircraft and ships to help with December performance of a search, rescue or on-scene coordinator function, and with aspects of SAR that pertain to their own 2010 emergencies. These volumes cost £50 each – or £40 if bought from the IMRF bookshop.

The IMRF is developing an online portal which will feature the full range of publications. Until the portal is completed, key December IMO publications – including the IAMSAR Manual, of course – can be ordered by IMRF Members using a form available 2010 on our website: www.international-maritime-rescue.org.

And remember: buying your IMO publications from the IMRF bookshop saves youDecember a full 20%!

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

June 2013

Editorial Welcome to the latest edition of your newsletter.

Before I forget, let me tell you about a change in the IMRF administration office’s contact details. The main phone number for Ann Laing and her team is now:

+44 (0)1569 767405 The main email address remains unchanged. It’s: info@international-maritime-rescue.org And the address for LIFE LINE matters is at the foot of this column. Hopefully you will have no difficulty getting through to us one way or the other – and if you have any questions to ask, especially about IMRF membership or our project work, or comments or suggestions to make, about LIFE LINE or anything else, please don’t hesitate to get in touch! We’re here to help and we want to hear from you.

Which isn’t a bad summary of SAR people generally, now I come to think of it.

It’s always a great pleasure to meet and talk to SAR people, I think – there’s a fellow-feeling which cuts across all apparent boundaries of language, nation or culture. And in my experience (nearly 30 years now: I’m getting old!) SAR people tend to be modest, selfdeprecating. Perhaps that goes with the selflessness that is fundamental to SAR itself.

Which is why SAR award ceremonies are a bit special. Nobody, so far as I know, does SAR in the hope of picking up a medal, so it’s especially nice when these modest people are given a moment or two in the spotlight. It’s been my great pleasure to help officiate at one award ceremony recently (see page 7), and to be in the audience at another, the RNLI’s, in London. The stories of the rescues for which the RNLI awarded Silver and Bronze medals this year were as gripping as ever – but there are other people as vital to SAR as the rescue unit crews: their various supporters, without whom the lifeboats would not go to sea, nor the helicopters take to the air. Unsung heroes, usually; but not always. Read about some of them on page 11.

Whether he’s ‘unsung’ or not, our Chairman, Michael Vlasto, is the RNLI’s current Operations Director and, as you can also read on page 11, he’s been given a very special award indeed – among many other things for his tireless work in international SAR development. It gives all of us in the IMRF very great pleasure to add our congratulations to those of the cheering audience at the London ceremony. Well done, boss...

Dave Jardine-Smith news@international-maritimerescue.org www.international-maritime-rescue.org

Contents Buy your new IAMSAR and save 20% ...

Editorial .................................

Dates for the Diary .................................

The IMRF in Malta .................................

The Migrant Problem ...................

St John’s Rescue Corps ...................

Costa Concordia: the SAR response ...

SAR Matters .................................

SAR Europe .................................

Mass Rescue in the Caribbean ...

Tragedy in Portugal .................................

Disasters off Burma & the Philippines ...

An IMO ‘first-tripper’ .................................

‘G3’: the next IMRF MRO conference ...

Asia Pacific Regional Development ...

The IMRF in Bangladesh ...................

Passing the Word .................................

RNLI Awards .................................

A Special Award .................................

What do we think? ...................

New Zealander Tied Up ...................

Send us your news & pictures ...

1 2 2 3 3 4 5 6 7 7 8 8 9 10 10 10 11 11 11 12 12 12

Dates for the Diary IMRF Mass Rescue Operations Workshop, Dhaka 13 August 2013 Hosted by the Bangladesh Coast Guard. See page 10 for details.

USCGA National Conference

22-25 August 2013

United States Coast Guard Auxiliary event, in San Diego, California.

See www.cgauxinternational.org for further details.

IMRF Regional Meeting & Mass Rescue Operations Workshop, Hong Kong 5-6 September 2013 Hosted by Wah Tak Engineering. See page 10 for details.

IMRF European Regional Development Meeting 18-19 October 2013 To be held in Estonia. See our next edition for details.

World Conference on Drowning Prevention 20-22 October 2013 International Life Saving event to be held in Potsdam, Germany.

See www.wcdp2013.org for further details.

‘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 10 for details.

World Maritime Rescue Congress 1-4 June 2015 Advance notice of the IMRF’s next Congress and quadrennial general meeting. Further details in due course.

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The IMRF in Malta

June 2013

The Migrant Problem From the outset of the IMRF’s mass rescue operations (MRO) project we have acknowledged that such operations may arise from a number of situations. People tend to think of ferry accidents, and Costa Concordia reminded us of the potential problems of cruise ship evacuation at sea (see page 5). Other examples include offshore industry accidents – a fire on an oil rig, for example – or the ditching of a passenger aircraft. And a maritime MRO may be caused by a land-based emergency, if evacuation by sea is required.

Above we see the IMRF’s Board of Trustees visiting the Armed Forces of Malta’s rescue coordination centre in Valletta during a visit to the island in April for the Trustees’ half-yearly management meeting, and for a focus day involving IMRF Members from the region.

But there is another category, complicated by political and other considerations: the problem of migrants setting out, very often in over-crowded and unseaworthy craft, simply seeking a better life – but getting into distress before they can reach the ‘promised land’.

That both meetings were such a success is to the great credit of IMRF Members, the Armed Forces of Malta (AFM), who provide cover in the large SAR region in the central Mediterranean for which the island has accepted responsibility. AFM offered to host the IMRF meetings at short notice, after the scheduled visit had to be postponed. IMRF Chairman Michael Vlasto is pictured here offering his thanks (and an IMRF plaque!) to AFM’s Col Emanuel Mallia. (For more on the

For many years this has been a particular problem in the Mediterranean Sea, and it was of course discussed at the IMRF’s recent regional meeting in Malta.

AFM, please see the April edition of LIFE LINE – which you can download for free at www.international-maritime-rescue.org – or visit www.afm. gov.mt.)

The regional meeting discussed SAR issues of particular importance to local Members. These included the terrible problem of migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean (see article at right); the challenges of other mass rescue operations (see page 5) and of artisanal fishing casualties (see our April edition); the ‘5+5’ international initiative between States on the Mediterranean’s north and south shores; the IMRF’s major SAR and safety projects; and AFM’s excellent SAR training work in the region.

Photos courtesy of the Armed Forces of Malta

Members of the IMRF’s Board also met representatives of the International Organization for Migration (see www.iom.int) while in Malta. IMRF Trustee Jorge Diena took part in the discussions. The next day, out on a boat trip, he suddenly came face to face with what he called the “ugly reality... We saw a patrol boat heading into Valletta harbour – with rescued migrants aboard. Then we spotted another patrol boat and a helicopter, picking up more from the water. It was really sad, and if the IMRF can help in any way, we should...”

While it is not within the IMRF’s remit to address directly the root causes of, or the political reactions to, the migrant problem, it is our job to highlight it and to do what we can to improve the SAR response. These are people in distress at sea: that is the most important point.

The IMRF Board had the pleasure of meeting Malta’s Minister for Home Affairs and National Security, the Hon. Mr Manuel Mallia, while in Malta. L-R: Udo Fox, IMRF Trustee; Bruce Reid, IMRF CEO; Michael Vlasto, IMRF Chairman; and the Minister. www.international-maritime-rescue.org

“The thousands of migrants who find themselves in difficulty trying to cross the Mediterranean are the main challenge facing SAR services in the area,” IMRF Chairman Michael Vlasto told the regional meeting: “Hundreds are dying each year. The IMRF will support the work of countries in the region helping to build maritime SAR coordination and response capability.” page 3

LIFE LINE

Member Focus: St John Rescue Corps

The St John Rescue Corps of Malta GC was founded by the late Anthony, Marquis Buttigieg De Piro (19322012). In 1986 the Marquis began to raise a corps of rescue volunteers, to meet the need for a support civil defence unit in Malta, consisting of adult volunteers fully trained in rescue and first aid and working alongside the Department of Civil Protection, the Malta Police Force and the Armed Forces of Malta.

The first rescue courses were carried out by Marquis Buttigieg de Piro himself with the assistance of instructors from the Armed Forces of Malta.

However, help was available from far and wide – the newly formed organisation received equipment, vehicles and uniforms from Germany, the United Kingdom and Italy. These initial donations and offers of help enabled the Corps to commence operations.

St John Rescue Corps does not have major benefactors so relies heavily on the generosity of the general public in order to uphold its objectives. It has just one paid administrator, and about a hundred highly dedicated, unpaid, part-time volunteer members.

Together with the St John Ambulance Association’s Training Branch and the Ambulance Brigade (First Aid & Nursing), the Rescue Corps forms part of the St John Ambulance Malta GC and operates under the auspices of the Order of St John, of which Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is Sovereign Head.

The Corps Fleet includes a Fire Truck, two Rapid Response Panel Vans and a 4x4 Vehicle that were generously supplied by Merseyside Fire and Rescue Services (UK). Specialised equipment gives the Corps capabilities to combat fires, perform high angle rescues and extricate casualties from collapsed structures or vehicles involved in collisions.

Each full recruit must be over eighteen years of age andphysically fit for the rigours of rescue; but cadet volunteers may join at the age of 16.

Recruits undergo a basic training course and then, as certified Rescue Volunteers Class I, are required to undertake a minimum of training every month. Most of the Corps’ senior leaders have qualified in Special Rescue Training at the Federal German Civil Defence Staff Training School, Ahrweiler; and many of the volunteers take advanced courses in the more specialised and demanding fields of heavy rescue, flood rescue, cliff (highangle) rescue, fire fighting, first aid and rescue diving.

June 2013

Today the Corps operates from their headquarters and training school at Fort Madelena, a Victorian fortress forming part of the massive defence line around the Maltese coast.

IMRF Trustees and officers had the opportunity to meet members of the Rescue Corps there during their recent visit to Malta, and witnessed a simulated cliff rescue exercise by some of the volunteers. “We were all extremely impressed by the demonstration and the level of skill shown by the ‘unpaid professional’ volunteers who undertook the recovery,” said IMRF Chairman Michael Vlasto.

St John Rescue Corps Commissioner and Commander, Captain Reuben Lanfranco, kindly arranged the event, to give the IMRF Board a first-hand look at the service provided by the Corps volunteers.

In a short presentation, Michael and Rueben reflected on the service provided by this organisation, and the value of being part of the international family of maritime search and rescue volunteers through membership of the IMRF.

Mr Vlasto emphasised the great service volunteers across the world provide to SAR, and added: “Evenings like this are very rewarding, as we get to share in the enthusiasm and passion of the people volunteering their time and skill to carry out effective SAR, thereby saving lives.”

For more information, or to support the Corps, visit www.stjohnrescuecorps.org.

www.international-maritime-rescue.org

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The IMRF’s regional meeting in Valletta, Malta, in April (see page 3) was addressed by, among others, Rear Admiral Cristiano Aliperta of the Italian Coast Guard, who described the SAR response to the Costa Concordia accident.

Admiral Aliperta gave an excellent insight into what can go so horribly wrong when communication delays occur, or when those who are not prepared for mass rescue operations suddenly find themselves involved in one – and also into what went well in the complex multi-agency response to this dire emergency. He spoke of all the elements of the response from offshore to onshore; from ship to safe haven; from Coast Guard to police and firefighters and all the rest.

Costa Concordia sailed for Savona from Civitavecchia a little after 8 pm on 13 January 2012, towards the end of an eight-day cruise. At 2145 local time she struck rocks off the island of Giglio, causing disabling damage.

Flooding uncontrollably, and with a list increasing, in the end, to some 85°, she drifted onto a narrow ledge close to the island’s port. It seems clear that only this chance stranding prevented her capsizing completely. She had 4229 people on board, 3206 of whom were passengers and 890 her hotel staff. She made no call for assistance.

The Coast Guard’s Maritime Rescue Sub Centre at Livorno – whose area of responsibility included Giglio – was first alerted to the accident via a call from a member of the public at 2206.

The MRSC identified that the ship was close to the island, and contacted her for information.

As a result of what they heard, the MRSC began a huge SAR response, with the first unit tasked at 2216. www.international-maritime-rescue.org

June 2013

Costa Concordia: the SAR response

Ultimately 25 rescue and patrol boats and eight helicopters took part, together with four tugs and 14 other vessels, including private boats from Giglio island. A Guardia di Finanza patrol boat was first to arrive, and remained as On Scene Coordinator until 0700 next morning.

The OSC: the Guardia de Finanza’s G104 arrived on scene at 2230

About 3000 people reached land in the ship’s own lifeboats and rafts: the increasing list meant that three boats and many rafts could not be launched. Some rafts were towed in by rescue craft, including 235 people in rafts deployed by the rescue units themselves. Four people were rescued from the water. About 560 remained aboard, most scrambling out onto the hull. 16 were rescued by helicopters; but most climbed down ladders to a rescue boat being used as a platform, from which other boats ferried them away. The ladders were also used by rescue teams to gain access to the ship.

The survivors were landed in the little port of Giglio – which did not, of course, have sufficient facilities to handle such very large numbers of

distressed people. Rescuers and volunteers from the island community opened schools and the church to provide shelter. Islanders took people into their own homes.

From 0400 on the 14th, with reception facilities made ready in Porto Santo Stephano on the mainland, the survivors began to be taken off Giglio by ferry.

Identification proceeded as they disembarked. When all the data had been matched as best possible it was determined that 32 people were missing: three bodies had already been recovered from the sea.

Coast Guard divers, working with teams from the navy, fire services and other authorities, began a search of Costa Concordia: a very dangerous task, made worse by uncertainty about her stability on the ledge. Three more people were th rescued alive from her on the 15 .

And between that date and 26 March the divers recovered 29 bodies.

Admiral Aliperta emphasised the problem of the huge news media response, stressing how important it is to know the facts and to maintain control. A Coast Guard Crisis Communication team was sent to Giglio. Two uniformed spokesmen on the island were supported by another at the headquarters in Rome, and by media specialists.

The main aim here was to prevent operational personnel from being disturbed by the press. This was done by creating a collaborative relationship, the Coast Guard ensuring the provision of fast, accurate, authoritative information.

The full report into the Costa Concordia disaster is expected to be published soon. It is already clear that MRSC Livorno acted quickly and well, and that the OSC was well-chosen. The rescue unit crews, the majority of the ship’s own crew, and the people of Giglio also responded magnificently. page 5

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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@international-maritime-rescue.org.

June 2013

die sooner than the ‘average’; others survive longer. But the main problem with this graph is that it did not indicate maximum survival times. The search planner was advised only to use a ‘safety factor’, multiplying the time derived from the graph by three.

Or you can join the discussion on our SAR Matters Blog, online at www.international-maritime-rescue.org.

Have a look at previous discussions on the website too, in the LIFE LINE archive.

In this edition we turn to the question of search times.

How long should we look...?

As previously reported in LIFE LINE, the IMRF has, over the last couple of years, coordinated the work of a team of medical, survival and SAR experts reviewing the International Maritime Organization’s advice on cold water survival. That work has had two results.

The first was the fully-revised and updated edition of the IMO’s Pocket Guide to Cold Water Survival, now available from the IMRF’s bookshop – see our April 2013 edition; and remember that you can buy copies at 20% off if you are an IMRF Member.

But the IMRF’s expert group also undertook a revision of the relevant guidance in the IAMSAR Manual, and this revised text is about to be published in Volume II of the Manual’s 2013 edition (see page 1).

IAMSAR Volume II is the SAR mission coordination volume, and the guidance the group reviewed is to do with survival times – and hence how long to search.

This is one of the most difficult questions in SAR. Fortunately, it does not arise very often: even if communications are lost people are usually found fairly quickly, near to their last known position. As more and more locator beacons come into use, the need to search extensively grows even less frequent. But it will always have to be done sometimes – and the question is, when do you stop looking, if you do not find all the people at risk?

When do you call off an unsuccessful search?

This is the graph that used to be in IAMSAR upon which many search planners based this very difficult decision. Its ‘average’ line shows the time at which 50% of people in the water may be assumed to have died at various water temperatures.

The two grey areas allowed for physiological variations: some people tend to www.international-maritime-rescue.org

Above is the graph that has replaced the ‘50% curve’ in the 2013 edition of the IAMSAR Manual. It shows something different: a realistic upper level of survival time for people wearing normal clothing in water at various temperatures. It is based on laboratory experimentation as well as extensive analysis of actual incident results.

At first sight, the new graph seems to require much longer search times than the old one did. Reading off the time against a water temperature of 15°C in the new graph, for example, gives a figure of 15 hours. The ‘upper limit’ curve in the old graph gives about 5 hours.

In fact, when the former ‘safety factor’ is applied, the apparent difference is resolved. Experiential and experimental evidence, rigorously applied, has essentially proved the old approach correct. But concerns expressed about the implications of this apparent increase led to the IMRF’s expert group drafting additional guidance, to be published shortly in a COMSAR Circular. This guidance will be added to IAMSAR’s 2016 edition.

So: does the SAR Mission Coordinator at last have just one simple graph to refer to when deciding how long to search?

Unfortunately not. The new graph may be said to show a ‘maximum survival time’ – but that’s for people in the water in normal clothing. Getting out of the water, even if only partially, is likely to increase survival time, as is wearing a survival suit. But most people will not live as long as the graph shows: at low temperatures survival time may be very short indeed, through ‘cold shock’.

Other limiting factors are rough seas, low body fat, injury or illness, the use of alcohol or drugs, or having to exercise – because not wearing a lifejacket, for example.

The very young or the elderly are also less likely to survive so long. The graph is an aid, but not a tool.

The search planner cannot know all the details about the target’s condition, and could not calculate a precise survival time even if s/he did. Calling off an unsuccessful search remains a difficult decision, even though the carefully revised guidance in IAMSAR Volume II gives as much help to the planners as possible. page 6

LIFE LINE

June 2013

SAR Europe In March this year the IMRF helped the conference organisers IQPC with their first ‘SAR Europe’ event, held in the Historic Dockyard at Portsmouth, in the UK. Attendees heard presentations on SAR in Portugal, the Netherlands, Canada, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, and the UK itself, including particularly interesting sessions on SAR integration and risk management; satellite communications; and SAR among offshore installations such as wind farms.

As well as participating in the two-day conference itself – giving delegates an update on the IMRF’s rescue boat guidelines, water safety education, and SAR development projects – the IMRF ran a mass rescue operations ‘focus day’, with presentations by Member organisations and a tabletop exercise led by the IMRF’s MRO project manager, David Jardine-Smith.

James Instance, manager of the UK Coastguard’s MRCC Falmouth, spoke about the process of mass casualty rescue beyond the reach of dedicated SAR resources. Udo Fox, IMRF Trustee and Executive Director of the German Maritime SAR Service, gave a case study of the Lisco Gloria incident. Mikael Hinnerson and Fredrik Falkman of the Swedish Sea Rescue Society talked about “filling the SOLAS gap” – improving the ability to recover people at sea (see www.first-rescue.org). Petteri Leppänen explained the ‘vessel triage’ system the Finnish Border Guard have been developing, as an aid to understanding risk and its management; and Mika Runsten, Chief of ARCC Finland, spoke about the Aircraft Coordinator role.

The IMRF also had the honour of helping to judge the ‘SAR Europe Awards’.

The judges, Rod Johnson, of port and marine consultants, Eagle Lyon Pope (right), and David Jardine-Smith (left), are seen aboard HMS Warrior with George Rawlinson of the RNLI, who received the ‘most significant contribution’ award for the RNLI’s development of their flood and swift-water rescue capability, and the officer of the Royal Canadian Air Force who accepted the ‘best rescue’ award on behalf of the crew of Rescue 908, a Cormorant rescue helicopter from 413 Squadron which had rescued two of the crew of the yacht Tabasco II in very difficult conditions 100 miles off the east coast of Canada the previous year. www.international-maritime-rescue.org

Mass Rescue in the Caribbean: the Black Swan exercise In his book The Black Swan, Nassim N Taleb suggested that ‘All major scientific discoveries, historical events and artistic accomplishments are “black swans”; unpredicted and undirected events that can and often do change the course of history’.

IMRF Members the United States Coast Guard cite this thought as a justification for their mass rescue operations programme.

You can argue that you’ll never become involved in an MRO, and you’ll probably be right – but that is no reason for not preparing for one.

In the Bahamas in early April they therefore held one of the largest live MRO exercises ever staged, working with the Bahamian authorities and the cruise ship industry on an “exercise of processes”.

The exercise began with a test of GMDSS distress alerting systems, followed by the partial evacuation of the Monarch of the Seas a couple of miles off Grand Bahama. “1000 cruise ship guests” (simulated by about 170 volunteers, cycling through the various stages with different identities etc) were then landed, triaged and transferred, according to medical need, either to a reception centre staffed by cruise company response teams, or to hospital.

The whole of this was a live process, with hundreds of people involved in all. From hospital the most seriously ‘injured’ were moved to a wellequipped mobile unit flown in from Florida and, after being stabilised, were airlifted to the States.

Other survivors received immediate aid from cruise company, consular and local authority teams, and then they too were taken through the process of repatriation.

The exercise was a trial of the whole planned response system in real time (except that it halted at night). It was a testament to the US Coast Guard and their Bahamian colleagues’ commitment to being prepared for the ‘black swan event’; and, said Christine Duffy of the Cruise Lines International Association, it “strengthens the industry's commitment to emergency preparedness in coordination with the USCG and other government authorities”. page 7

LIFE LINE

Tragedy in Portugal IMRF Trustee Udo Fox reports an incident which demonstrates the best and the worst of maritime SAR. The best is that SAR crews will risk their lives, in very bad conditions, to save others. The worst is that not only can they not always save the lives of those in distress but sometimes they lose their own too.

A German sailing yacht, Meri Tuuli, with five people aboard, was approaching Figueira da Foz harbour on Portugal’s Atlantic coast in rough seas and Force 5-6 winds on an April evening. A second yacht saw her fire a red flare, and broadcast a mayday relay on VHF channel 16.

The Portuguese SAR authorities immediately deployed an Instituto de Socorros a Náufragos (Lifesaving Institute) rescue boat, UAM-690 Patrão Macatrão, and a Maritime Police RHIB. The two SAR units arrived on scene in 1015 minutes, for the Meri Tuuli was very close to the entrance to the port.

A SAR helicopter was also scrambled, arriving on scene about 25 minutes later.

Meri Tuuli was disabled and drifting towards the rocks of the breakwater.

Trying to reach her, the Police RHIB capsized and all three of its crew members fell into the sea. The Lifesaving Institute rescue craft, manoeuvring with great difficulty because of the severe sea conditions, was able to recover one of the RHIB’s crew members and three of the yacht’s crew, who had also ended up in the water.

The other four people, two from the yacht and two from the Maritime Police rescue team, were recovered ashore. Very sadly one of the yachtsmen and one of the RHIB’s crew had died in the surf.

The IMRF expresses its heartfelt condolences.

The pictures show the dismasted German yacht; the Maritime Police RHIB washed up on the beach; and the Lifesaving Institute’s Patrão Macatrão (photographed by Joao Viana, leaving Figueira da Foz on another rough day). www.international-maritime-rescue.org

June 2013

Disasters off Burma and the Philippines The need for improved safety at sea, as well as improved SAR, continues to be terribly demonstrated.

On 14 May the BBC reported that at least 50 people were feared drowned after their boats sank off Pauktaw in western Burma.

About 100 people were in three crowded boats – only one of which had an engine, and which was towing the others – when they were reported to have hit rocks. 40 survivors had been found, and eight bodies recovered. The rest were missing.

The boats were evacuating people ahead of the powerful Cyclone Mahasen. The UN had called for an urgent evacuation of temporary camps ahead of the storm, warning that many areas where displaced people are now living are in low-lying coastal areas at risk of flooding or tidal surges.

Barbara Manzi, head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), told the BBC that it appeared the boats "left the camp with the blessing of the authorities”. Trying to escape drowning on land, dozens of desperate people have drowned at sea.

Cyclone Mahasen (left) and Typhoon Bopha: remote imaging does not tell the human story

In April’s LIFE LINE we noted the destruction caused by last December’s super-typhoon, ‘Bopha’ or ‘Pablo’, especially in and around the Philippines. At that time news reports said that, as well as hundreds killed and many thousands displaced on land, several hundred tuna fishermen were missing at sea.

51 fishing vessels are reported lost: only 18 survivors were found. Over 350 fishermen are believed to have died in the storm. Although the atrocious weather was always likely to take lives, some of the death toll must be put down to poor communications: poor information flow to the boats at sea regarding the approaching storm, and the lack of an effective real-time vessel position monitoring system (VMS) or a 24-hour guard on the radio frequencies used by the fleets.

Dexter Teng, of TSP Marine Industries, has said that, with a VMS “combined with robust weather and distress monitoring systems, we could have saved the lives of our fishermen”.

Industry sources have also called for more investment in dedicated SAR resources able to respond in such conditions. page 8

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June 2013

An IMO ‘first-tripper’ IMRF Chief Executive Bruce Reid had his first experience of an IMO meeting when he attended the last COMSAR in January (see LIFE LINE, February 2013) along with ‘old hand’ David Jardine-Smith (DJS). Here Bruce shares his first impressions.

As most readers of the newsletter will be aware, the IMRF has consultative status at the International Maritime Organization (IMO). What this means is best described with the words from the IMO website: “Non-governmental international organizations that have the capability to make a substantial contribution to the work of IMO may be granted consultative status by the Council with the approval of the Assembly.”

IMRF Members are well represented at the IMO by our secretary, DJS, who continues to promote the need for improved regulation and guidance on all matters relating to SAR and maritime safety.

I had the privilege of attending the IMO’s Radiocommunications and Search and Rescue Sub-Committee (COMSAR) in London in January this year, and for those who haven’t had the chance to attend I thought some ‘day one’ insights may be of interest.

Prior to attending, in discussion with many, I was given the impression that attending these meetings could easily be compared with the thrills of watching grass grow or paint drying on the picket fence… so my enthusiasm for the five days had somewhat waned by the time I entered the theatre that is the IMO. From the IMRF seats at the back of the plenary hall, the maritime world unfolded below us, with about 200 delegates representing some 170 Member States. The five days proved fascinating and at times enthralling.

The tone is set by Mr Koji Sekimizu, Secretary-General of the IMO, with opening remarks. Then the sub-committee gets into the first business of the meeting.

The cut and thrust of the discussion and debate hold layers of intrigue, as what appear to be relatively simple proposals, commonsense recommendations or previously agreed advancements suddenly hit the wall as IMO processes are applied to “improve” wording (be careful because the subtle change can change the context) or divert from the current discussion to move to an apparently completely unrelated subject. (Heads shake, brows crease and whispered discussions can be heard.

“Why...? What is this about...? Have we missed something...?)

Slowly positions are identified, and some lines are drawn.

The politics at play come to light. There is some interesting by-play as social graces are used to emphasise differences of opinion: “with due respect... our respected colleagues…” Verbal chess is followed by the telltale “we agree with the distinguished delegate’s position – but...” Listen carefully after the “but”, I am told, because that’s when the truth is stated. www.international-maritime-rescue.org

The view from the IMRF seats at the IMO, above, and our CEO back at the office, left. His T-shirt reads: “Caution: severe weather warning – Kiwi approaching”. The residents of Stonehaven have noticed that Bruce’s arrival coincided with a really terrible winter...

The Sub-Committee Chairman, aided by the IMO secretariat, keeps matters on track, attempts to channel the discussion, summarises the results, and occasionally subtly reprimands inappropriate interventions.

A card indicating a delegation’s wish to speak is held up in front of us. I thought we were talking about GMDSS, but how does this relate? The Member State representative holding the card seems to be making a presentation on SAR training development. “How is this relevant?” I quietly query DJS. “It isn’t” he informs me; but now that this matter has been raised it will appear in the records. These turns of events can be frustrating but are part of the game.

Ahhh: I see. Well, not really – but I think I understand the strategy at play. We are not the only ones a wee bit frustrated on this occasion as the Chairman reminds us all that, when raising the marker, the matter to be introduced needs to be relevant to the current discussions... Duly noted and the wheels start to turn again.

The tension is broken as one of the translators in the boxes above the main stage finds herself translating in English an intervention being provided in English. She apologises, and a murmur of suppressed laughter floats across the arena.

The main Sub-Committee breaks into working groups to work on the detail. Direction is carefully provided by the Chair and the groups filter out to rooms elsewhere in the building. The big plenary room becomes silent again, except for the clicking of keyboards and hushed conversation on mobile phones – hushed because mobiles interfere with the sound system, and are frowned upon.

Only when you don earphones do you hear the continuing debate in the big hall as those of us left, not required for the more expert working group discussions, find out that the world has continued to revolve. Whew.

I come away with a whole new respect for the rule-makers and the people who give the time to be involved in the work that goes into the development of regulations and guidance. The time I spent at the IMO highlighted the complexity involved in finding solutions at an international level – and the need for organisations such as ours to be fully involved. We can support development, encouraging willing compliance with realistic aims, by providing our membership’s specialist experience and expertise. page 9

LIFE LINE

June 2013

Asia Pacific Regional Development

‘G3’: the next IMRF MRO conference Planning has begun for the third in the IMRF’s successful series of conferences on mass rescue operations (MRO) – known as the ‘Gothenburg series’, for the conferences have been hosted by the Swedish Sea Rescue Society at their headquarters in that fine city.

The first in the series was held in June 2010, and may be described as a scoping exercise, with presentations from a wide range of experts addressing various aspects of the problem. In June 2012 we moved on to a more discussion-based event, at which attendees identified areas of concern, and work which the IMRF’s MRO project might take forward.

The third in the series will be held 1-3 June 2014. Make a note in your diary now, for we believe you won’t want to miss it!

More details will be published soon, but we hope to bring you live and simulated exercises as well as expert speakers and case studies, and opportunities to discuss and contribute to improvements the IMRF will be putting forward.

Keep reading LIFE LINE, and watch the website, www.internationalmaritime-rescue.org.

The Civil Aviation Department office at Hong Kong International Airport is the venue for the first IMRF Asia Pacific Regional Development Meeting, to be held 5-6 September 2013, kindly hosted by Wah Tak Engineering Co Ltd and China Rescue and Salvage.

The event will gather senior decision-makers from Coast Guards, Navies, SAR coordinating agencies and others with an influence and interest in maritime rescue across the Asia Pacific region.

This is not a conference but an IMRF Regional Meeting of SAR organisations, aiming to share ideas, build relationships and identify new ways of preventing loss of life in the water.

Part of the meeting will focus on current IMRF projects, including mass rescue operations – which is a subject very much on the minds of SAR organisations worldwide.

Collaboration between countries and organisations, strong and defined command and control structures, effective on-scene coordination of air and surface units, careful and clear response planning and excellent communication at all levels are the keys to a successful response to any kind of large-scale incident.

The IMRF has successfully supported such discussions and helped improve preparedness in other parts of the world, and we welcome this opportunity to do so in the Asia Pacific region too.

We will also provide an overview of the work being undertaken to complete the Rescue Boat Guidelines as well as our Education and Awareness initiative, and our work with some developing SAR organisations.

Systems for evacuating ships continue to evolve – but then what...? Preparing to rescue large numbers of people from situations like this is a primary concern of the IMRF’s MRO project. www.international-maritime-rescue.org

Register your interest in attending and/or presenting at the IMRF’s Asia Pacific Regional Development Meeting, on-line at

www.imrf.asia

The IMRF in Bangladesh The Buriganga River flows past Dhaka, capital city of Bangladesh.

The Sadarghat Launch Terminal is one of the largest river ports in the world, serving this large and watery nation. 200 passenger launches, large and small, depart and arrive every day, carrying an estimated 50,000 people. Hundreds more ‘country boats’ ply the river, laden with passengers and merchandise.

As we reported in February, the IMRF Trustees had hoped to meet in Dhaka earlier this year, but the meeting had to be postponed.

Members of the Board and Secretariat will now visit the city in August, for meetings with the Navy and the Coast Guard, and at the Ministries of Home and Foreign Affairs.

Accidents on Bangladesh’s waterways are all too frequent. On 13 August 2013, the IMRF will hold a mass rescue operations workshop with representatives of the Bangladeshi naval, port, shipping, inland water transport, fisheries and emergency response agencies.

The workshop will identify roles, responsibilities and capabilities so as to improve inter-agency communications and preparedness; and will help create a platform for further national and/or international work on the subject.

If you are interested in attending, please email info@internationalmaritime-rescue.org. page 10

LIFE LINE

Passing the Word

June 2013

RNLI Awards

A Special Award

In May the IMRF’s CEO, Bruce Reid, was among the guests at the UK and Ireland’s Royal National Lifeboat Institution’s annual presentation of awards. The seven RNLI crew below received the Institution’s prestigious Gallantry Medals.

Robert Scott, chairman of IMRF Member Jamaica Search and Rescue (above left, showing Black Swan materials to Garfield Sang of the Rotary Club and Lt Cdr Gregory Shouse, United States Coast Guard attaché in Kingston)

was one of the international observers at Exercise Black Swan in April (see page 7). He has been passing on what he learned.

Robert is urging Jamaican authorities to ensure that they have a sound maritime emergency plan, especially one for cruise ship mishaps, and that it is tested to ensure its integrity. "It is just proper risk management to ensure that we have a plan and that the plan is in fact workable and scalable; that each person knows their responsibility," he says.

"A disaster involving a cruise ship at any of the Caribbean's ports of call could easily overwhelm the State's ability to respond medically or operationally. That would be a public relations nightmare for the Caribbean as a whole.”

For Robert, Black Swan raised the question of how his own country would handle medical response, emergency supplies, transportation, and the management of traffic to allow quick access to hospitals. He feels that there are several lessons that Jamaica could take from the event, with work needed at the planning and policy levels, including the establishment of a memorandum of understanding with non-State agencies.

This would determine the command structure, and facilitate the sharing of resources. A database containing a complete inventory of the skills available island-wide would identify those able to serve as volunteers in the event of a disaster. www.international-maritime-rescue.org

Damien Bolton (right) was awarded a Silver Medal for taking the Port Isaac inshore lifeboat into dangerous seas on the rough North Cornwall coast, to rescue a fisherman who had been swept into the sea. Damien’s crew, Nicola-Jane Bradbury and Matthew Main, received Bronze Medals.

The RNLI awards very few Honorary Silver Medals. In fact, only three have been awarded since 1824. But, as IMRF Chairman Michael Vlasto (above, in earlier times!) nears the end of his 39-year career with the Institution, a packed hall gave a standing ovation while the RNLI’s President, HRH the Duke of Kent, presented this very special award.

Paul Eastment, Chris Missen and Martin Blaker-Rowe became the first members of the RNLI’s Flood Rescue Team (see LIFE LINE, June 2011) to receive Gallantry Medals, each being awarded Bronze for their rescue of a woman clinging to a tree on a pitchblack night and in 12-knot flood waters.

And Anstruther helmsman Barry Gourlay received a Bronze Medal for his part in the rescue of two people from a motorboat that had been driven onto rocks, badly holed in breaking waves and, again, total darkness.

Yet these were not the only heroes honoured. The audience applauded a long line of volunteers with decades of fund-raising to their credit – and it rose to its feet to cheer 15-year-old Natasha Lambert, who has raised thousands for the RNLI – a charity – by sailing the 60 miles around the Isle of Wight.

HRH the Duke of Kent congratulates Michael as Lord Boyce applauds

RNLI Chairman Admiral the Lord Boyce noted that, in introducing hovercraft, lifeboats on the Thames and on inland waters, lifeguard patrols and flood rescue, ‘Michael has been more influential in the development of the RNLI than any other individual in our 189-year history.’

Which is really saying something.

Good for her; but what’s so very special about that? Well: Natasha has athetoid cerebral palsy. She controlled her boat’s rudder by using a straw to sip and puff, and used her tongue to operate a switch to control the sails...

Heroes come in many different guises. page 11

LIFE LINE

June 2013

What do we think?

IQPC, the organisers of the SAR Europe conference (see page 7), undertook a survey of attendees which produced some interesting results.

When asked what was their most pressing concern right now, 36% of respondents cited improving interoperability and cooperation with other SAR resources; 29% said staffing and training issues; and for 26% it was upgrading or replacing equipment. Only 8% identified improving SAR techniques through new strategies as their chief concern.

Current pressures on funding may be said to have had a significant impact on staffing, training and improving equipment; but the other two statistics suggest that, while we seem to have the strategy about right, many people feel we should be working together more in the SAR world.

Which is something the IMRF can help with!

These conclusions are borne out by the answers to the question “What would you say is the biggest barrier to development of a seamless SAR response in your country?” Over 60% ticked lack of communication and cooperation or lack of funding. Worryingly, 34% chose “lack of leadership and a ‘big picture’” instead.

Of those attendees for whom planning and training for mass rescue operations is relevant, a fifth reported a high level of preparedness and 45% said a moderate level of activity had taken place. But a third reported either a low level of work or none at all. Perhaps we can help there too.

Social media are playing a bigger part in most of our lives, and nearly two-thirds of the survey respondents thought social media will play an important role in SAR in future, with only 8% seeing no place for them. There is more work to be done here, though, as the uncertainty of the remaining third perhaps demonstrates.

Another interesting result to emerge from the survey was the response to the question “Are remotely-controlled vehicles a viable option for future SAR operations?” 18% thought not, while another 18% were unsure – but the remaining 64% said yes. Correctly, we think, as IMRF Members the Hellenic Rescue Team demonstrate with their flying camera platform, above.

Kiwi Tied Up In these days of CGI and Photoshop it can be very difficult sometimes to tell what’s a real image and what has been doctored. So the reader can only be asked to accept the editor’s word that this picture – probably unique – is perfectly genuine. It was taken by IMRF Trustee Udo Fox (always a cool customer in a crisis) and it shows fellow Trustee Brooke Archbold wearing a tie...!

The reaction of Betsy Westerström (Trustee Rolf’s wife) probably says it all. It was an historic (or do we mean ‘hysterical’?) occasion...

(Apologies to readers who have yet to meet our Trustees! Ed.)

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@international-maritime-rescue.org.

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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