LIFELINE June 2015 - English

LIFE LINE The Newsletter of the International Maritime Rescue Federation (IMRF)

June 2015 December 2010

December News… Experience… Ideas… Information… Development…

2010 December 2010

In this issue:    

IMRF Chairman Michael Vlasto looks around the horizon CEO Bruce Reid considers the last four years, and the strategy for the next four December SAR in Germany, the UK, Ireland, Antigua & Barbuda, Asia-Pacific and North & West Africa and much more!

2010

December 2010 December 2010 December 2010 If you are a delegate at the World Maritime Rescue Congress, welcome both to LIFE LINE and to Bremerhaven.

December

December The picture above is an image of cooperation as well as welcome. The IMRF Congress is all about cooperation 2010in global SAR, and LIFE LINE is too. Linking up and working together, we are stronger.

If you unfortunately could not make it to Congress, please do not feel left out! There’s still lots for you in this ecnext. ember edition of your newsletter – and there’ll be full reports about what happens in Bremerhaven in D our

2010 December World Maritime Rescue Congress edition 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 KCMG, IMO Secretary General Emeritus

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

LIFE LINE

June 2015

Editorial Welcome to the latest edition of your newsletter: our Congress edition!

A word first about LIFE LINE, which may be new to some readers. We publish news from around the world of maritime search and rescue (SAR) every two months, trying to give a flavour of what’s going on and supporting the IMRF’s basic mission of sharing ideas and experience among the global maritime SAR family.

We depend on you for the news we publish – IMRF members and LIFE LINE readers. If you think you have a story to tell that might help someone else in SAR, even if they are on the other side of the world, please send it in!

And remember that LIFE LINE is free. You can download pdf copies from our website, www.international-maritime-rescue.org: just click the ‘Newsletter’ button. Or you can sign up there to have a link emailed to you whenever a new edition comes out. Come on: beat the crowds, be the envy of your friends...!

One more point: please note that there are no hyperlinks enabled in LIFE LINE. Some firewalls do not like them. So, if you want to use a url or email address, please cut and paste it into your search engine. ***

Contents Welcome ................................

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

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

Our Chairman writes ................................

The IMRF: the last four years ..................

And the next four ................................

Congress & QGM: how they work ...

The two IMRFs ................................

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

Die Seenotretter ................................

Respect the Water ................................

Antigua & Barbuda SAR ..................

Join in! Become a Member ..................

IMRF’s Asia-Pacific Regional Centre ...

SAR development in N & W Africa ...

Rescue Boat Guidelines ..................

Crew exchange ................................

Mass rescue operations ..................

Education: Member wins award ...

Why we do this ................................

Send us your news & pictures ...

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

Dates for the Diary Yachting Shanghai Shanghai, China

8-12 July 2015 For details, email info@imrf.org.uk

This issue of LIFE LINE coincides with the World Maritime Rescue Congress, and with the IMRF’s Quadrennial General Meeting. There’s a little bit more about them inside – but, whether you are able to be with us in Germany or not, be sure not to miss our August edition, which will contain full reports of both these prestigious events.

North & West and West Africa Regional Meeting

The QGM and the Congress give us the chance to reflect on what we have achieved recently and where we want to go next, and this issue of LIFE LINE contains a number of great articles relating to both these things. Please read on...

International Civil Aviation Organization / International Maritime Organization Joint Working Group on SAR Trenton, Ontario, Canada 14-18 September 2015

But just before you do, please join me in offering congratulations to our good friends the DGzRS, our hosts at Congress, whose 150th anniversary year this is. Prost!

26 September - 3 October 2015

Dave Jardine-Smith news@imrf.org.uk

www.international-maritime-rescue.org

Rabat, Morocco

21-23 July 2015 For details, email info@imrf.org.uk

IMRF Regional Mass Rescue Operations Workshop Singapore

19-21 August 2015 For details, email info@imrf.org.uk

For details, contact d.jardinesmith@imrf.org.uk

European Life Boat Crew Exchange For details, email info@imrf.org.uk

European Regional Meeting Åland Islands

October 2015 (date tbc) For details, email info@imrf.org.uk

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

page 2

LIFE LINE

Dear friends, As you read this some of us will be gathered in Bremerhaven for the World Maritime Rescue Congress. This coming together of the ‘maritime SAR family’ has taken place every four years since 1924 and, rather like the Olympic Games, becomes a more comprehensive event each time. Our hosts, the DGzRS (German Maritime SAR Service), who are also celebrating their 150th Anniversary, have done a tremendous job in providing such an excellent location with ideal facilities; and our small but dynamic Secretariat has laid on an event that will be interesting, thought-provoking and, I hope, beneficial to all our members – and not just those able to come to Germany: the output from this Congress will be shared with you all.

I feel honoured to have been Chairman for the last eight years and, as I reflect on the changes that have taken place during that time, I am particularly grateful to those members, and in some cases non-members, who have helped us through some very challenging times.

Much has been achieved, particularly with our key projects (mass rescue operations, rescue boat guidelines and the development of SAR resources around the world) some of which have taken time to deliver due to the limited resources available. More recently, following the appointment of Bruce Reid as Chief Executive, the restructuring of the Secretariat and other necessary changes to the way the IMRF is organised have allowed a new approach to our vital communications and fundraising processes – both of which are now producing even better results.

At our last Congress, in Shanghai in 2011, the new Board of Trustees listened to the membership and since then, working closely with the Secretariat, has developed a revised overall strategy to build on the development work already completed and make the most of the growing number of opportunities the www.international-maritime-rescue.org

June 2015

Our Chairman writes...

Michael Vlasto, who has been the IMRF’s Chairman for eight years, is now retiring from the Board – but we are sure to see more of him in the world of SAR! Here are a few images from his time as Chairman, representing the IMRF in China and New Zealand; in Uruguay with the rest of the Board; and at the IMO.

IMRF is being asked to assist with. Not least of which is the increasing interest in the IMRF’s Asia Pacific Regional Centre and its ability to facilitate SAR training and development workshops in an area where more than half the world’s maritime incidents are still occurring.

With several long-serving trustees deciding to retire at the Quadrennial General Meeting immediately following this Congress, we have some very capable and experienced candidates volunteering their services – which is both pleasing and encouraging. Their range of skills covers all aspects of being a trustee of an international charity today and, of course, they will also bring new ideas and thoughts for the future, which are essential.

I cannot conclude this message without mentioning the terrible continuing tragedy in the Mediterranean. The media reports are full of tragic stories as well as some stories of heartwarming rescues and acts of personal gallantry by overburdened rescue crews. More resource is now being provided to try and cope with the increasing stream of people trying to cross to Europe. We salute the endeavours of those carrying out this work and, as an organisation, are doing all we can to influence and facilitate a reduction in the lives being lost.

So, dear friends: for those attending the Congress please participate, enjoy the friendship and return home enthused and wanting to improve what you do as a result of what you have seen and heard. For those who are not able to attend we will share as much as we can with you and hope to see you at other functions around the world.

I hope you will continue to support the IMRF in the future – an organisation with a big heart, some ambitious dreams and a growing ability to deliver, which is worthy of your support.

Michael Vlasto

June 2015 page 3

LIFE LINE

The IMRF: the last four years IMRF Chief Executive Bruce Reid writes: Our Quadrennial General Meeting (see page 5) provides an opportunity to look closely at our activity over the last four years, to reflect on the successes, review the failures and take stock of our progress. Coming out of our last QGM, in 2011, the IMRF faced serious challenges, some logistical, others posed for us by our Members, keen to see us build on our established foundations.

Under Ann Laing’s leadership our administrative office was consolidated in Stonehaven, with Wendy Webster looking after the IT and Jill Greenlees the accounts. Ann retired in late 2014, but this small team continues to provide truly excellent support.

Our communications have improved, with a dynamic website, LIFE LINE in pdf and online versions (and in six languages!), targeted Member correspondence, and an increased news media presence.

Our membership and funding have increased yearon-year, and we are grateful to our Major Donors and Associate supporters in particular. Nevertheless we are at the limit of what can be done with the resources currently available to us.

Yet, on reviewing the four years, we are proud of what we have achieved.

David Jardine-Smith has coordinated our Mass Rescue Operations project (see page 11). He also leads for us at the IMO, where we are the voice of maritime SAR at the UN level. We are engaging closely with the IMO’s regional SAR development work too.

Our Asia-Pacific Regional Centre team, led by Zhang Rongjun, are hard at work on development in that region, and our regional coordinator Mohammed Drissi, supported by IMRF Members and Trustees, has done great work in North and West Africa too.

Our European Lifeboat Crew Exchange project, coordinated by Linde Jelsma of KNRM, and our Rescue Boat Guidelines project, now led by Andy Flanagan, have also made great progress (see pages 11-12).

On top of all this we have run regional meetings in Africa, Europe, South America and Asia-Pacific, and our Board have attended meetings with local SAR colleagues in other parts of the world in addition.

The IMRF’s profile is higher than it has ever been, which is creating increasing numbers of opportunities and will put us in a good position to deliver further advances wherever we can. www.international-maritime-rescue.org

June 2015

...And the next four!

In the last edition of LIFE LINE I provided a first taste of the IMRF’s revised Strategic Plan, outlining the direction the IMRF has been heading in the last couple of years and our intentions moving forward, with focus on key areas where we can make a difference.

Maritime SAR is changing and the IMRF is positioning itself to be more effective in this changing environment through increased representation, advocacy and influence, continued support and development for our members and the global maritime SAR community, developing sustainable funding, and formalising maritime SAR consultancy services. This will require an effective IMRF with the infrastructure necessary to support this development and growth.

In planning the direction for the future one of the major factors in the “world view” taken by the IMRF has been recognising that deaths at sea and safety issues tend to be defined around: o Transportation (passenger vessels) o Labour (working on the water) o Personal safety (leisure activities) The international maritime SAR system is specifically designed for the assistance of anyone in distress at sea, whatever their reason for being there. The IMRF should be similarly comprehensive in outlook and, as much as possible, in activity.

The wheels are in motion. We are seeing support coming in from a growing number of Associate Members. The funds generated through this support will help us continue to build on our global SAR development work, and will provide valuable resources to supplement the work being done by our small but effective team. Increased exposure of our activities through our partners’ channels of communication will make us even more visible.

The need for greater and more diverse funding has also been addressed. The services of a professional fundraiser have been secured, with focus on increasing the streams of funding coming into the IMRF, especially for special project activity. To do more we need more.

Two key projects are nearing completion, with the Rescue Boat Guidelines and the Mass Rescue Operations library being launched at Congress. This will free up our most valuable resource, people, to advance other areas of development.

To be even more effective the most important ingredients are time and knowledge. Time to plan and knowledge to help invest our resources into the areas where we can make a difference. The plan we have tabled and are advancing is ambitious and will be challenging – but if it was easy someone would already be doing it... page 4

LIFE LINE

Congress & QGM: how they work With apologies to readers who are not attending the World Maritime Rescue Congress this time – and we are sorry to have missed you! – here is a quick explanation of what will be going on for those of you who are.

The Congress is a four-yearly gathering of people from all around the maritime SAR world, whether IMRF Members or not. The aim is simple: to share experience of SAR in all its aspects so that, together, we can make it better.

Above all, the Congress – like all IMRF conferences – is not about sitting in an auditorium listening to a succession of speakers and watching the paint dry on a succession of powerpoints... There will be speakers, yes, and exciting ones, with a wide range of presentations for you – but everyone at Congress can take part. It’s a conversation, an exchange, a sharing of experience and information. It is ‘workshop’ based, with brief expert presentations sparking discussion and debate.

The majority of the event, then, will be divided into a series of workshops grouped into three workstreams running in parallel: o

SAR ORGANISATION & MANAGEMENT

o

SAR COORDINATION

o

SAR OPERATIONS

Details are in the Congress handbook. Delegates can choose between streams and between workshops as they wish. And there are plenty of opportunities to network too, plus a world-class SAR Exhibition, plus a fleet of SAR units to visit, plus a partners’ programme...

Enjoy – and remember, if you need help, look out for one of the IMRF’s Congress team. They’ll be wearing light blue shirts like this, and they are there to answer your questions, or find someone who can!

Congress is followed, in the same venue, by the IMRF’s Quadrennial General Meeting, when the Members review the work of the last four years and help plan the next four. Although it’s our business meeting, any Congress delegate is very welcome to attend.

There will be at least two votes at the QGM; one on proposed amendments to our constitution; and one to elect the Board of Trustees who will guide the IMRF through the next quadrennium. Only Full Members (see page 9) may vote and each must have an authorised representative to do so.

Again, if you have questions, please ask a member of the IMRF Congress team... www.international-maritime-rescue.org

June 2015

The Two IMRFs David Jardine-Smith, Secretary of the IMRF, reflects...

I have now had the pleasure of working in the IMRF Secretariat for over five years. It has been a genuinely excellent experience, meeting and working with people with SAR in their souls from all around the world – humbling, yes, when I IMRF consider how much is done sometimes with IMRF very little resource; but very exciting too.

Since our last Congress, in Shanghai in 2011, I think we have achieved a lot, and it is my pleasure, as editor, to include some of what we have done in these newsletters.

But – who are ‘we’...? What is ‘the IMRF’?

It seems to me that we can be seen as two things. First, there is the little group – the very little group! – of people who you receive emails from, perhaps, or hear from on the website or in LIFE LINE; even, these days, in the news media: just four of us in the UK, three of us in China – and, occasionally, as for this Congress, a cheerful little band of volunteers who help us out and keep us sane, and a helpful consultant or two.

We are, in one sense, ‘the IMRF’ – if only because that’s who employs us! We form the hub of the operation, you might say: the little circle in the simple diagram above.

But of course we are not the IMRF really.

Our Members are. Our Members, working together in support of global SAR development, are what the IMRF really is – and suddenly the IMRF, instead of being tiny, becomes huge, and a really powerful force for positive change, for saving lives the world over, whether the lives belong to cruise ship passengers or artisanal fishermen, yachtsmen or migrants adrift on the sea. It is this IMRF, the real IMRF, that people listen to at the IMO or in conferences and seminars around the world, because they know that this IMRF, working together for SAR, is strong, and worth listening to!

The ‘little’ IMRF in the centre is simply a coordinating cell, able to link those wanting help in developing or maintaining SAR capability with those who can provide that help. Our Members use that coordinating cell to get in touch with each other – a telephone exchange, if you like – so that the development resource is used efficiently.

‘Two IMRFs’? Yes – and no. We’re one big team. page 5

LIFE LINE

June 2015

SAR Matters This column provides a forum for LIFE LINE readers worldwide to contribute to debate on any relevant SAR issue. Have a look at previous discussions in our Newsletter Archive, online at www.internationalmaritime-rescue.org: every LIFE LINE since 2010 is available there for free download. You can join in the debate by emailing news@imrf.org.uk. It’s good to talk!

In this edition we consider

Potential SAR research projects In maritime emergencies we can identify at least seven stages at which interventions will help save lives:  accident prevention: through education, provision of reliable equipment, etc  incident containment: the ability of a vessel’s crew to deal with an emergency unaided  support: the provision of external assistance to a vessel’s crew, either to remove the need for evacuation, or to make it safer  escape: passengers and crew moving to a position from which they can leave the vessel  evacuation: the process of actually leaving the vessel  search: locating people in distress  rescue: the processes of retrieving people in distress, providing for their immediate needs, and delivering them to a place of safety.

While the IMRF supports any initiative that will lead to improvements in accident prevention, incident containment, escape and/or evacuation (because such improvements will either render SAR unnecessary or will make it simpler), our remit is to focus on support, search and rescue.

The majority of lives lost at sea or on other open waters are lost in the developing world, because of deficiencies at any or all of the stages identified above. This is often because of a lack of funds – at personal, organisational, national or regional level – for training and suitable equipment.

 extending survival time: this requires suitable survival equipment to be carried aboard, and/or delivery systems for such equipment. The latter can be particularly important in mass rescue situations, including migrant rescues, enabling people to stay alive until they can be rescued.  on-board support: survival time can also be extended by the provision of on-board support in various forms, mitigating the effects of an emergency so as to facilitate evacuation and rescue, or to remove the need for these responses altogether.  location: for people to be rescued they must first be found. This partly relates to raising the alarm, in that alerting systems may incorporate location transmitters.

It also includes passive location systems; systems for locating transmitting devices such as cellphones; remote sensing systems; and innovative active search processes, for example by Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).  retrieving people: recovering people from survival craft or the water is a difficult process, particularly for non-specialist units – which may be the only rescue units available. The FIRST Project (see www.first-rescue.org) and similar initiatives are seeking to address this issue.  specialist rescue facilities: the design & equipment of units suitable to local conditions should be given greater priority. This is the focus of the IMRF’s rescue boat guidelines project.  transfer to the place of safety: ‘rescue’ includes caring for people while taking them to a place of safety – which may require additional external intervention; medical advice, for example, or delivery of supplies.

Accounting for everyone involved in a mass rescue operation also remains a considerable problem.  communications in complex situations: failings in communication are almost always identified in major incident and exercise reports.  holistic thinking: there is often a failure to think through the whole emergency process, especially the link between the ‘evacuation’ and ‘rescue’ stages.

The IMRF is keen to encourage research and development initiatives that will produce effective and affordable solutions to these deficiencies; solutions which ‘make sense’ at the local level. Such initiatives might include:

 incident recording: there is a need for a common, global method of recording incidents, accessible by SAR organisations, with clear measurement standards, evaluation tools, and data benchmarking.

 raising the alarm: many people in distress die because they do not have alerting devices and/or because facilities to receive and act on their alerts are lacking. Addressing these problems may mean adapting existing communications systems (cellphones, for example) or introducing new ones, as well as auditing the effectiveness of systems already in use.

 incident analysis: the IMRF encourages the identification and wide dissemination of lessons learned in incidents and exercises. We are conducting our own research in this area, and would welcome partners and new initiatives identifying common factors in maritime accidents and SAR response, so that improvements can continue to be made.

www.international-maritime-rescue.org

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LIFE LINE

June 2015

Member Focus: Die Seenotretter – the German Maritime Search and Rescue Service The 2015 World Maritime Rescue Congress is being held in Germany in celebration of the 150th anniversary of IMRF Members the Deutsche Gesellschaft zur Rettung Schiffbrüchiger. We would like to wish our gracious hosts “Alles Gute zum Geburtstag!”

The DGzRS, internationally known as the German Maritime Search and Rescue (SAR) Service, was founded on 29th May 1865. Since then it has carried out SAR missions voluntarily, independently and accepting sole responsibility – and supported entirely by donations and voluntary contributions. Today approximately 300,000 sustaining members keep the rescue crews afloat through regular contributions.

For more than a century, German life-saving missions at sea had been a private matter. The DGzRS fulfilled this task from within its own traditions. Then, in 1965, the role of DGzRS as sole maritime rescue service provider was laid down in the “Maritime Responsibilities Act”. Further legal frameworks were established in 1982: with reference to the Maritime SAR Convention, an agreement with the Ministry of Transport formally conferred the undertaking, administration and coordination of the SAR service on DGzRS. Both parties agreed that the DGzRS would continue to carry out SAR services as a charity on an independent, voluntary basis, financed by its own funds. In fact, the DGzRS assumed a more or less public duty without claiming one cent of the public funding normally awarded to non-profit organizations.

The DGzRS is responsible for maritime SAR services in Germany’s SAR Regions in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. 180 full-time employees and more than 800 volunteers are on call on 20 SAR cruisers with daughter boats and about 40 smaller SAR vessels. The crews fulfill more than 2,000 missions every year. Since 1865 DGzRS crews have saved more than 81,000 lives.

The DGzRS rescue units are highly weather resilient, and among the most modern and efficient SAR units currently in existence. Both the cruisers and the smaller boats are welded constructions of saltwater-proof light alloys, built www.international-maritime-rescue.org

in the tried and tested grid frame system and are characterized by their excellent seaworthiness and selfrighting capabilities. Few ships undergo such rigorous testing prior to being put into service as those of the DGzRS, including capsizing tests, of course.

Today 54 stations in the North Sea and Baltic Sea, on the mainland and the islands, form a dense rescue network.

It enables several rescue cruisers and rescue boats to quickly arrive at the scene of distress. Especially in the event of larger incidents, cooperation between several DGzRS units becomes a necessity.

All missions are coordinated by the DGzRS’ central Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Bremen; a private one, which is unique worldwide. MRCC Bremen is also where distress calls and emergency notifications converge.

The cooperation between DGzRS and the German Navy has been contractually settled, especially as regards collaboration with the navy airmen. The MRCC can request navy helicopters at very short notice. The arrangement is practiced in regular winching exercises.

The DGzRS Board of Chairmen operates on an honorary basis: the highest managing body is the steering committee. Its main duties include nomination of and support to the board, amendments to the rules and regional representation. Two full-time directors are responsible for the areas of rescue service operations and administration, fundraising and PR activities.

The patron of the DGzRS is the Federal President of Germany. The former Federal President Dr Richard von Weizsäcker said: “The DGzRS is a combination of civil initiative and civil courage: civil initiative which unites individuals who, without any government funding, still secure the means to bring about great achievements for the common good, and the civil courage of those who serve day and night on their boats to help people.”

See www.seenotretter.de

(Images: DGzRS) page 7

LIFE LINE

June 2015

Member Focus: Respect the Water – putting prevention first Ross Macleod of the RNLI writes: The Royal National Lifeboat Institution is the charity that saves lives at sea and has been striving to end preventable loss of life around the UK and Irish coasts since 1824. It provides an on-call, 24-hour lifeboat search and rescue service, a seasonal lifeguard service and a responsive flood rescue team. It now has a comprehensive network of 237 lifeboat stations including eight inland locations such as the iconic River Thames in London and Loch Ness in Scotland. This service is reliant on thousands of unpaid volunteer crew.

The RNLI has always had an interest in accident prevention, stretching back to the 1800’s when sailors were given barometers to check if it was safe to go to sea, but its primary focus has always been SAR. However this started to change during the 1990’s when a sea safety initiative was established to focus on preventing accidents by offering free fishing boat ‘health checks’.

The charity took another huge step in 2001 when it established a lifeguard service, which by its very nature is preventative and views rescue as the last resort.

This focus on prevention has continued to evolve but hit a crossroads in 2011 when the organisation asked itself a difficult question: how can we save more lives? To answer this honestly a better understanding of the problem was required, so the RNLI started analysing coastal fatality and incident data to establish who is most at risk.

This evidence-based approach is now changing the way the RNLI operates, no longer celebrating a busy year of rescue, but instead focusing on reducing risk to the public and its own volunteer crew and lifeguards, and driving down fatalities and serious incidents. An ambitious target of halving coastal fatalities by 2024 has now been set, and can only be achieved through partnership work with like-minded organisations and approaching lifesaving in a different way.

This approach has refocused prevention work on those most at risk, and starts to isolate specific behaviour changes that will keep people safer. Examples include knowing that wearing a personal flotation device is the key message we need to communicate with rock anglers, or carrying a means of calling for help that you can reach in the event of capsize when out kayaking.

However, to communicate these messages effectively the RNLI’s prevention activity needed an identity, so an umbrella campaign was created to become the recognisable brand people associate with water safety. www.international-maritime-rescue.org

That national campaign is called Respect the Water. It puts drowning prevention at the heart of everything the RNLI does. It will play an important role in helping the RNLI achieve its aim, and has been developed using best practice from other successful public safety campaigns. The aspiration is to establish it as the nationally recognised water safety campaign in the UK and Republic of Ireland.

The campaign was created in 2013 and has spoken to many different people about water safety so far, including targeted messaging to those who enjoy activities such as scuba diving or angling, but also more general awareness messaging to those most at risk: adult men. Now the campaign is established, communication to different groups of people can be dialled up when it’s needed most; talking to commercial fisherman about stability during January, their most dangerous month, or putting water safety on the public’s agenda during the summer with a national advertising campaign, by talking about risks like cold water shock and rip currents.

With lessons learnt the past two years, the Respect the Water campaign will be launched on 9th July and will be the largest campaign the RNLI has ever run, with messages all around the UK and Irish coasts reminding the public that our seas can be dangerously unpredictable and focussing on three main issues: 

Cold water shock



Motion of the ocean (currents, waves & tides)



Unexpected slips, trips and falls into the water

Since its creation Respect the Water has tried to get people’s attention by communicating water safety in an interesting and emotive way, using surprising facts, true stories and localisation.

This year will be no exception with thoughtprovoking campaign ideas across cinema, radio, online, press, and outdoor posters in local communities.

For more information contact ross_macleod@rnli.org or visit www.rnli.org/respectthewater.

(Images: RNLI) page 8

LIFE LINE

June 2015

Join in! Become an IMRF Member or Supporter

Member Focus: Antigua & Barbuda Search and Rescue We have focussed on two of our larger Member organisations in this edition. Let’s now look at one of the smaller ones – just as important to the global SAR system!

ABSAR, like many organizations, was born out of need. In 1998, an 18 foot Hobie Cat went missing with two Antiguans onboard while en route from Grenada to Antigua.

During the subsequent search efforts, the need for additional resources became apparent.

Throughout the years, ABSAR has continued to respond to the needs of the community.

Initially providing and organizing aerial search assets to support SAR activities in the area, ABSAR expanded their services to include medical and rescue support for the Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta and the Antigua Race Week Regattas each year. They now operate two rescue RIBs and conduct SAR missions up to 40 nm offshore, averaging 25-30 missions annually.

ABSAR is equipped to provide fire suppression with their portable firefighting pump and associated equipment, responding to several fires on and off the water each year. In 2015, ABSAR added a Defender fire tender to their shoreside operations.

ABSAR also provides a land-based emergency medical service using a Discovery 3 ambulance and a Defender rescue vehicle to provide emergency care and transportation for up to 70 cases a year, and a medic station which provides an urgent care facility for illnesses and injuries, treating up to 1000 patients each year. www.international-maritime-rescue.org

So how does ABSAR “fit in” to the SAR picture? They work closely with the French Maritime Rescue Coordination Center, the Antiguan Coast Guard and the V.C. Bird International Airport to provide SAR coverage for Antigua and Barbuda, and with the Antigua Emergency Medical Service and the Antigua Fire Service to provide EMS and fire cover, both on and off the water. They provide an urgent care facility to benefit our community.

Last year ABSAR participated in an airport mass rescue exercise involving an airline crash offshore.

They responded along with the Antigua Coast Guard, Fire Service, Emergency Medical Services, Police, Hospital staff, and Antigua Barbuda Airport Authority. The scenario called for a Boeing 737 crash a mile offshore with 97 persons aboard.

ABSAR developed a marine triage system to help prioritize which persons needed most urgent rescue. During this exercise, ABSAR found the new system to be highly effective in rapidly rescuing all victims and thereby maximizing the use of very limited resources.

ABSAR remains flexible in responding to community needs by providing a multi-disciplined emergency response agency.

“So that others may live…”

If you are attending the World Maritime Rescue Congress you will be hearing a lot about what the IMRF does to improve maritime SAR around the world. Or, if you are reading this newsletter for the first time, you might have found something that you would like to be a part of...

Well, of course, you can be.

The International Maritime Rescue Federation is an international charity, based in the UK but with members around the world. As a non-governmental organisation in consultative status at the IMO, we are the voice of maritime SAR at the international level, and we number among our members governmental and nongovernmental SAR organisations of every size.

We are primarily a member-based organisation (see page 5) with three basic classes of membership. o Our Full Members already provide maritime search and/or rescue services by agreement with the local SAR authority. o Our Affiliate Members are working towards providing SAR services, or are subsidiaries of Full Members, or are primarily concerned with water safety. o And our Associate Membership is available to any organisation, business or individual with an interest in the provision of maritime SAR or the promotion of water safety.

Not part of one of these types of organisation? Don’t worry! You can help us as an Individual Supporter too.

See www.absar.org

(Images: ABSAR)

Visit: www.international-maritimerescue.org/index.php/supportus/become-a-member

page 9

LIFE LINE

June 2015

IMRF project: global SAR development...

SAR in North & West Africa

IMRF’s Asia-Pacific Regional Centre Our APRC, established in Shanghai with the support of China Rescue and Salvage (CRS), was officially opened by Vice Minister Weng Mengyong of the Chinese Ministry of Transport and IMO SecretaryGeneral Efthimios Mitropoulos on 23 August 2011. It is located in CRS’s Donghai Rescue Bureau.

Key to increasing APRC’s activity in the Asia-Pacific region was the formal registration of the Shanghai centre in 2014, one of the first nonChinese charities to achieve this.

The APRC promotes IMRF’s aims in the region, attracting more States and organizations to join the IMRF family and improving maritime SAR capabilities at all levels. The APRC raises funds, organizes regional meetings, seminars and training, and promotes SAR cooperation. With the spotlight on the region as a result of the tragic sinking of the South Korean ferry Sewol and the disappearance of Malaysian Airlines flight MH370, rescue organizations are looking closely at their systems and processes. The APRC is dedicated to the completion of the global SAR plan in the Asia-Pacific region.

Great progress has been made in building a regional cooperation and exchange platform for all the SAR organizations in the region. Two IMRF regional development meetings have been held, in Hong Kong and Shanghai, together with an IMRF mass rescue workshop. And in 2013 APRC brought international experts to www.international-maritime-rescue.org

Mohammed Drissi, Regional SAR Coordinator, writes: China for the first time to give onscene coordination training.

Over the past four years IMRF Trustee Song Jiahui has generated over US$200,000 for this work, and he continues to work tirelessly to build the IMRF’s profile and support through the region. Captain Song was a logical choice as the first APRC chairman, and the APRC Board has put together a rigorous work plan for 2015, with three MRO workshops, SAR training courses and a regional meeting and fundraising events planned.

The APRC team – Mr Gu Yiming and Ms Qiu Jing, led by Mr Zhang Rongjun – have been looking at ways of improving communications with IMRF members and potential members in the region. This newsletter, for example, is translated into Chinese, and is gaining new subscribers with each edition.

The team also maintains the APRC website where regular articles of regional importance are provided.

With very few contacts when the office was first opened the APRC is now receiving invitations to attend meetings of regional groups including the ASEAN Transport Forum and IMO regional development meetings.

I am happy to inform you that the training course on the On Scene Coordinator function in April went well. Appropriate participants from Mauritania, Senegal, Cabo Verde, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Benin, Cameroun, Nigeria, Togo, Congo, Gabon and Morocco attended the course in Agadir. The course was provided by Mr Hamish McDonald, IMRF Trustee and CEO of the Enkur Institute.

In order to give more effectiveness to the course, an exercise with a simulation at sea was planned on the third day, with the involvement of MRCC Rabat and two merchant vessels lying at anchor in Agadir Bay. The delegates’ oral evaluation and the questionnaire they filled in showed the main following recommendations: - An advanced course on the On Scene Coordinator function is recommended to strengthen the knowledge and lessons learned; - Such a course gathering many countries is very important and very interesting because of the experience exchange it provides; - Extend the course to 5 days instead of 3 days.

From my side I thank the IMRF and the IMO very much for the support you provide to the African regions to help them establish SAR services.

I hope it can continue, because of the good results we are seeing.

“The APRC has come a long way in the past four years,” says IMRF CEO and APRC Board member Bruce Reid: “We are looking forward to setting up more Regional Centres to help fulfill the IMRF’s goal of preventing loss of life in the world’s waters.”

IMRF CEO Bruce Reid adds: “We are currently seeking funding for the next Regional Meeting.

“I would like to express our thanks to Mohammed who continues to push things forward in Africa.” page 10

LIFE LINE

June 2015

IMRF projects:

Rescue Boat Guidelines Project leader Andy Flanagan writes: I am delighted to advise that after 8 months of managing this project we will have a working model of the online Rescue Boat Guidelines tool launching at the World Maritime Rescue Congress.

We currently have the model being trialled and critiqued by some of our subject matter experts to allow any final adjustments. At the launch we will provide the ability to go on-line and, after identifying the scope of activity you intend to undertake, generate a report of guidance for equipment, training and procedures recommended by the IMRF. This guidance is pulled from over 2,000 lines saved in a central database developed by our Members.

The RBG is guidance: we know that rescue is undertaken in a variety of craft. The ability to filter out areas that are not relevant to an organisation will help provide manageable lists of recommended actions that will not flood the users with too much information. Our filtering system allows you to identify the key items you intend to develop, with the option of seeking further help from the IMRF if needed. After filtering there is a priority list of recommendations, rated against a risk matrix. This will assist organisations to target development in areas our experts view as being of highest risk.

I am excited at where we have managed to get this project to, but even more so with where we can take it now that we have the base levels established. I hope to bring together interested parties at Congress to gather your thoughts and feedback on the RBG and your recommendations on how we can further enhance them. www.international-maritime-rescue.org

(image: RNLI)

Crew Exchange The successful IMRF European Lifeboat Crew Exchange project continues to grow with the introduction of the French lifeboat service, SNSM, bringing the number of participating organisations to 11.

“We are getting more and more interest from around the world regarding the exchange concept, with requests from our South American coordinator, Jorge Diena, for Chile and Uruguay; interest from IMRF Members Marine Rescue New South Wales; and discussions underway for a similar programme in China,” says CEO Bruce Reid.

The Crew Exchange was an initiative of the Dutch lifeboat service, KNRM, who have provided excellent project management with Linde Jelsma pushing through the barriers to run the first exchange in 2012. 182 volunteers have participated to date, with some excellent feedback: "What an amazing and fulfilling experience! An unforgettable week!" an RNLI volunteer, who went to KNRM in 2012.

Linde will be providing Congress with a presentation on the programme to date and will issue a challenge: Where to from here...?

Mass Rescue Operations The IMRF’s MRO project will reach an important point this summer, with the launch of its online reference library at the World Maritime Rescue Congress. The library will join the IMRF’s successful MRO Workshop package as project outcomes designed to help anyone in SAR to prepare for these rare but extremely challenging events.

The library – which will be both dynamic and user-friendly! – will be organised around a series of guidance papers developed by an IMRF subject-matter expert group led by David Jardine-Smith. This guidance draws on lessons learned in maritime mass rescue incidents of all kinds, in exercises and drills, and at the IMRF’s Gothenburg series of conferences.

The IMRF’s guidance is backed up by incident and exercise reports and guidance published by the IMO and others – particularly the United States Coast Guard.

SAR people who have followed the project have commented: “IMRF has done a tremendous job with the project, enabling them to share information and raising awareness among stakeholders.”

“IMRF keeps us all focused on this difficult subject and it is very much appreciated!”

Go on: take the plunge! You know you want to...! See ‘Dates for the Diary’, on page 3.

The IMRF’s guidance will also be published as an eBook: watch the website for news or email info@imrf.org.uk. page 11

LIFE LINE

June 2015

IMRF projects:

Education The IMRF’s ‘Safety on Water Education Awareness Project’ seeks to share good practice and water safety education materials: see www.international-maritimerescue.org/index.php/homeeducation Here’s an example: Coastguard Boating Education is the leading provider of recreational boating education in New Zealand.

Whilst Coastguard New Zealand's SAR services are there to help boaties in trouble, the not-for-profit education arm, CBE, works hard to prevent them getting into trouble in the first place.

Coastguard are IMRF Members and we would like to congratulate them, CBE and Optimism, the creative content developer, on the success of their Day Skipper Online course in the LearnX Impact Awards 2015.

With over two hundred entries of an exceptionally high standard, Day Skipper Online received the Silver Award in the Best Learning Services category. The awards recognize the finest talent and innovation from the world of learning throughout the Asia Pacific region.

CBE General Manager Neil Murray says that “winning a LearnX Impact Award is a fantastic endorsement of the talent of all those involved in the

project. I am extremely proud that Day Skipper Online has been acknowledged amongst the preeminent and most creative agencies in the eLearning industry and that this online course is now reaching into the homes of the boating community”.

Day Skipper is CBE’s most popular introductory course. It focuses on essential boating safety knowledge relevant to all boaties and was developed into an online version and launched in March of this year.

The course, sponsored by Tristram Marine, is an interactive and fun way to learn. It can be completed anytime, anywhere, on a tablet, laptop or desktop. There are five units covering all crucial aspects of boating safety: the boat, navigation, rules and regulations, emergencies and knots. The buoys and beacons section of navigation is a free section that CBE has made available to familiarize students with the functionality of the course before they proceed to the full paid version. The course costs includes assistance by an ‘Online Coach’.

CBE Chairman John Cowan is one of the speakers at the World Maritime Rescue Congress and will provide delegates with an overview of the educational work CBE is doing to make the NZ boating public – and thus save lives.

For more information, contact neil@boatingeducation.org.nz

See also ‘Respect the Water’, page 8.

Why we do this The IMRF, and SAR people generally, work very hard at what we do. We work in our various ways with one basic aim: to save people from the world’s waters – for their own sake, of course, but for the sake of their loved ones too.

Jón Svanberg Hjartarson of ICE-SAR recently drew our attention to an article on the BBC News website titled ‘Bedrooms of the Remembered’, which reports a very moving project by the photographer Kim Hong-Ji, who visited families of Danwon High School students lost in the Sewol disaster. See www.bbc.com/news/inpictures-32285746?OCID=fbasia.

Jón commented: “I have often thought about what can be done to help people realize how tragic loss of life is and how we can combine that with accident prevention, knowledge sharing and so on. Here in Europe we are all shocked if something happens in our ‘back yard’ but if something happens far away then it is just some accident...

“These pictures are really breathtaking. We are always talking about numbers and of course that is necessary but we could focus more on the personal level too.

“Just thinking...”

And finally...

We hope that you have found this issue of LIFE LINE informative and interesting. If you would like to contribute articles and pictures about your news, projects, events, ideas or lessons learned, please contact news@imrf.org.uk

LIFE LINE www.international-maritime-rescue.org

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