LIFELINE October 2010 - English

LIFE LINE

October 2010

The Newsletter of the International Maritime Rescue Federation (IMRF)

News… Experience… Ideas… Information… Development…

In this issue: taking on the problems of mass rescue news from the Caribbean and New South Wales an update on the Rescue Boat Code meeting reports and more!

A message from the Chairman, on behalf of the IMRF Trustees Welcome to the latest edition of the IMRF Newsletter.

Firstly I would like to apologise for the long gap between this and the last edition. As many of you will be aware our Chief Executive, Gerry Keeling, fell seriously ill last October and has only recently returned to a full work schedule. I am delighted to say that he is fully restored to health. Welcome back, Gerry!

His absence was, of course, a serious setback to the Federation, whose secretariat is very small. However, with considerable help from Members, a good deal has still been achieved. All the projects we have been working on have progressed in a satisfactory manner.

You will read below about the very successful conference we ran in Gothenburg in June. This was a first for the IMRF - running a conference on a specific topic of major relevance to international maritime rescue. It will be the first in a series of IMRF conferences which, together with other work on the subject, aims to make real, practical improvements in mass rescue response globally - whether from a cruise ship in the Baltic or a ferry in Bangla Desh.

This first conference was hosted by the Swedish Sea Rescue Society, led by my predecessor as Chairman, Rolf Westerström. Rolf's ability to procure vessels for exercises and demonstrations once again bore fruit: we are very grateful to Stena Line for the use of Stena Jutlandica for the practical part of this event. This was a real demonstration of industry and a national charity coming together in the interest of saving lives at sea.

You will have read in previous newsletters of the work being carried out to develop a Rescue Boat Code. As most of you know, guidance for maritime SAR operators can be lacking, or perhaps inappropriate if it does exist. As the NGO representing many such services, we are addressing this situation in close cooperation with the IMO. An international project team has been established and is progressing well with the formulation of the first draft. You can read more about its progress later in the newsletter. It is our intention to present the draft covering the main sections of the Code for discussion at the Quadrennial Conference in Shanghai next August.

Incidentally, Gerry is now once again working hard on the Quadrennial Conference arrangements. He will be circulating an initial tranche of information shortly.

I must take this opportunity to thank Ann Laing, who now works part time for the IMRF, for all the work she quietly does behind the scenes. She has greatly improved our administrative functions and has enrolled some very capable volunteers to assist us in keeping the IMRF functioning efficiently without incurring large administrative costs. In particular she has been a tower of strength during Gerry’s illness.

Finally, I would note that, although our membership and external communications have not been as good as they should be, we are now working hard on improvements in this area - your suggestions / feedback will be very welcome.

In particular, the publication of this newsletter has been a little erratic and infrequent. I am happy to say that a parttime editor, Dave Jardine-Smith, has joined us: he will introduce himself below. But newsletters are only effective if we get input from Members and other interested parties to maintain the exchange of good ideas and best practice. Dave will be asking for your help in this respect. Please help him to help us!

My best wishes to all those who read this newsletter and to your organisations.

Michael Vlasto Chairman of IMRF Trustees

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Editorial

Contents

First, let me quickly introduce myself. I have recently begun working part-time with IMRF following 25 years with the UK Coastguard (and nine years at sea before that). I have had the pleasure of meeting some of you down the years, most recently at the mass rescue conference in Gothenburg - of which more in this issue - and I look forward to meeting more of you as time goes on.

Chairman’s message……………...

Editorial……………………………..

Dates for the diary…………………

Mass rescue conference series….

Mass rescue: Gothenburg 2010…

Caribbean news…………………...

Australasian news………………...

SAR Matters……………………….

The FIRST project………………...

A Rescue Boat Code….…………..

Regional Meeting, Bremen…...….

Regional Meeting, Morocco………

Regional Development Groups…..

ICAO/IMO Joint Working Group….

As our Chairman has noted in his message above, the IMRF - as the representative body of the world’s maritime search and rescue organisations - can and should act as a focal point, collating and disseminating information of practical use wherever in the world people are working to save people from the water. LIFE LINE should be a key part of this process.

LIFE LINE will be published more frequently from now on. We intend a bi-monthly distribution, using simple pdf files like this one, emailed to as many recipients as wish to receive it. (Please contact Ann Laing if you want to add people to our distribution list a.laing@international-maritime-rescue.org).

In time, following work to improve our website, LIFE LINE will be available there too: I will be uploading this and earlier issues as soon as I can. Those of you seeking further information on items mentioned in LIFE LINE will be able to find it on-line as well. But please bear with us while we overhaul the machinery!

The point is, we need to get valuable information out.

And to do this, of course, we need to get that information in. We need your news items, incident reports, lessons learned, training & equipment initiatives, meeting reports, notes on forthcoming events, discussion pieces, etc etc. There is a huge wealth of SAR experience among IMRF’s members: it is in all our interests (and in the interests of those we seek to save most of all) to ensure that that experience is shared as widely as possible.

So: please send us your news. Tell us about your organisation, the challenges it faces, how you overcome them. Tell us about events you are planning, and how they went. Share with us your SAR experience: tell us about emergencies you’ve handled, tell us what went well and what went less well. We can all learn from each other - and to enable this is one of IMRF’s prime functions.

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Dates for the Diary Rescue 2010 in Iceland

22-24 Oct 2010

An international SAR conference with about 60 different lectures to choose from, plus a trade show. More information at www.icesar.com/rescue.

Regional Meeting, Helsinki

28-30 Oct 2010

Annual European Regional Group meeting, 29 Oct, hosted by the Finnish Lifeboat Institution on Bagaskar. Preceded by VOMARE conference in Helsinki, 28 Oct: the VOMARE Project aims to revive voluntary Estonian SAR operations in the eastern Gulf of Finland and to improve cooperation between the Finnish and Estonian volunteer maritime SAR services. Contact Ann Laing (a.laing@international-maritime-rescue.org).

World Maritime Rescue Congress, Shanghai 24-28 Aug 2011 The Congress will be hosted by China Rescue and Salvage. It will comprise presentations, workshops, an international SAR exhibition, and a major live SAR exercise. It will also be the venue for IMRF’s quadrennial Members’ meeting. See the next issue of LIFE LINE for further details.

Mass Rescue Conference

April 2012

The second in IMRF’s conference series on mass rescue at sea will coincide with the centenary of the loss of RMS Titanic. It will continue work begun at Gothenburg in June 2010 (see report in this issue of LIFE LINE) and to be progressed at the World Maritime Rescue Congress in Shanghai in August 2011. Further details to be announced in LIFE LINE in due course.

Another function is to promote debate on what constitutes best SAR practice. To that end we are introducing a discussion column called ‘SAR Matters’.

The aim here is to provide a forum for discussion on any topic relevant to water search and rescue that readers wish to discuss. Please send in a brief piece to introduce the topic, and/or comments and questions arising from earlier pieces. We begin in this issue with the subject of how best to recover people from the water into high-sided vessels.

Please send all items for LIFE LINE to news@international-maritime-rescue.org. And include pictures whenever you can: they can tell a thousand words… Thank you, and best wishes.

Dave Jardine-Smith 2

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mass rescue

October 2010

Mass rescue: Gothenburg 2010 This conference - the first in a series seeking real improvements in mass rescue operations at sea - was kindly hosted by the Swedish Sea Rescue Society (SSRS): 121 delegates attended, from 36 different countries. It was a great success: but this is only the beginning. More work, focussing on the main problems identified with mass rescue situations, remains to be done - and IMRF will be playing a leading part in that work.

A full report of the Gothenburg conference can be found on the IMRF website.

Mass rescue conference series Concerns about the challenges presented by mass rescue incidents around the world have led the IMRF to organise a series of conferences on the subject. The first was held in Gothenburg, Sweden, in June (see right).

The overall aims of the series are to share experience and initiatives, and to seek to improve the response to mass rescue incidents wherever they may occur in the world.

The objectives of the 2010 Gothenburg conference were to: • consider practical aspects of mass rescue operations at sea; • contribute to international efforts to improve mass rescue response; • provide an opportunity for practical exercise of evacuation, recovery and rescue techniques; • provide an opportunity to explore and discuss the issues arising; • identify specific issues requiring further work; and • provide a report to the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

IMRF is forming a mass rescue working group to consider the results of the first conference and plan future work. There will be a ʻmass rescueʼ theme as part of the IMRF Quadrennial Conference in Shanghai in August 2011, and the second in the specific conference series will be held in April 2012 - 100 years after the sinking of the Titanic.

Watch LIFE LINE for updates.

Michael Vlasto, IMRF Chairman; Rolf Westerström, SSRS; and Esa Mäkelä, former Master, Silja Europa, at the Gothenburg conference

The highlights of the conference included: • Practical trials of a recovery system under development by the SSRS and Stena Line as part of the First Independent Responder Safe Transfer (FIRST) project - see www.first-rescue.org and the separate report later in this issue of LIFE LINE. • A moving keynote address by Capt Esa Mäkelä, former Master of the Baltic ferry Silja Europa and On Scene Commander of the SAR response to the Estonia disaster, and Mr Kent Härstedt, a distinguished member of the Swedish Parliament and one of the last to be rescued following Estonia’s sinking.

• A second keynote address by Mr Johan Franson, former Chair of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Council, on the IMO’s proactive review of passenger ship safety and the regulatory shift to functional requirement.

• Presentations on how SAR organisations can assist ships in distress to help prevent, or facilitate, evacuation; on mass rescue research and the core principles of maritime emergency response planning and management; on the shoreside response and its efficient coordination with that at sea; on SAR operations in polar waters and other remote areas; and on systems for recovering people at sea.

• A plenary discussion session enabling all attendees to contribute to the debate.

The conference conclusions were that: • Recovery of people from survival craft or from the water remains a problem (especially in bad weather) that must be resolved.

• Rescue boats currently required under the SOLAS Convention are not always fit for purpose.

• Carriage of practical means of recovery aboard all ships should be mandated by functional requirement, and efforts by the IMO to achieve this should be supported.

• Clear communications from the outset are essential to successful mass rescue response. Communications should be planned, and the plan quickly implemented.

• Response organisations should actively seek to learn from survivors’ experience.

• Liferafts should be clearly visible even if inverted, and made easier to access from the water. Should they be limited in size, to facilitate recovery?

• We should avoid planning for the last emergency. Mass rescue planning should be goal-based, ‘light touch’ and flexible, and should seek to minimise areas of potential conflict or misunderstanding; for example, as regards command and control structures.

• A mass rescue will necessarily be a multi-agency response, and should be planned accordingly. It is essential to establish what resources are available and to organise those resources efficiently. Direct liaison with external parties is very beneficial, and a system for distributing reliable information is required.

It is clear that a great deal of work remains to be done. We hope that as many IMRF Members as possible will be able to contribute to it. Contact d.jardinesmith@international-maritime-rescue.org if you would like to help.

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Caribbean News

Australasian News

ABSAR replacement rescue truck

Peter Phillipson, Director, Volunteer Marine Rescue New South Wales, has sent us a recent edition of his organisation’s newsletter, Ship to Shore. Here are a couple of extracts.

Jonathan Cornelius, Director, Antigua & Barbuda Search and Rescue (ABSAR), writes: This summer the ABSAR board decided to replace my Ford pickup with a Land Rover Defender 110 wagon.

I would like to thank Jon Gill of Premier Motors for assisting us by providing us this vehicle at his cost.

Gillie also donated the roof rack with the spotlights along with a number of other add-on items.

Michael Briggs has also helped out by ordering a winch to be fitted on the vehicle upon arrival. Steve Miller and his crew at MPS also assisted with some welding for the roof rack. James Hudson spent several days in the hot sun assisting in the installation of the emergency lights, siren, air horn‌ Luke Pressley, Sven Harder, and Rob Steele also pitched in to help complete the project.

In addition to the equipment from the previous rescue truck, we will be carrying a basket stretcher for rough terrain rescue situations. This vehicle has been also been modified to allow us to utilize it as a patient transport vehicle and backup to our current Emergency Response Vehicle.

Funding proposal After lengthy negotiations with various Government Agencies and Ministers and the submission of a comprehensive budget document, Marine Rescue NSW has been able to secure a funding proposal from the NSW Government which will greatly increase the level of funding given in the past to the three previous marine rescue parent organisations. The funding allocated for the 2009-10 financial year was $1.4m, in addition $3m seed funding was given to Marine Rescue NSW to establish the new single organisation. The new proposal gives the public and volunteers an opportunity to vote for a new funding model which will put a small levy on boat users, 100% of which will go to Marine Rescue NSW. This funding, some $6.4m, will relieve the pressure on our volunteers and allow Marine Rescue NSW to renew assets and equipment, grow the organisation into the future and provide support to the front line that was not available previously.

Marine Rescue Service Delivery Model The multi-agency team researching the Marine Rescue Service Delivery Model (MRSDM) has completed its field work component of the project. Over a four week period the five man team visited every Volunteer Marine Rescue Unit and Marine Area Command establishment in NSW. During that time the team spoke with 100s of volunteers, filled 100s of pages of questionnaires and took over 2,500 photos and videos of radio bases, coordination centres, vessels, coastal bars and crossings and other localities relevant to marine rescue. The process of collating this data and subjecting it to the formal risk management process based on ISO 31000:2009 Risk management - principles and guidelines is well advanced.

The aim of the MRSDM project is to achieve a better match between the distribution of risks along the NSW coast and the disposition of the resources to treat those risks; ie, the accredited rescue vessels, SAR Coordination Centres and Marine Radio Bases.

Do you have news to share with SAR colleagues worldwide? If so, please let LIFE LINE know. Contact news@international-maritime-rescue.org.

Risk treatments may also include things such as changes in accreditation, investment in local recruitment campaigns, concentration of efforts in training and development of communications technologies. Successful implementation of the MRSDM will achieve the best rescue service delivery for the boating community, with the most efficient use of limited resources to improve our service delivery.

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SAR Matters This is a discussion column, intended to provide a forum for LIFE LINE readers worldwide to contribute to debate on any relevant SAR issue. New items for discussion should be emailed to news@international-maritime-rescue.org.

We begin with a look at an issue raised at the IMRF mass rescue conference in Gothenburg:

Recovery of people from survival craft or from the water

The FIRST Project

People abandoning a ship or boat in distress, hopefully into some sort of survival craft, are sometimes called ‘survivors’.

But this is wrong: they are not ‘survivors’ until they are in a safe place, warm, dry, with access to food, water & medical aid. A liferaft is just a staging post in the rescue process.

Perhaps it is this shorthand error that leads to the problem of how to recover people from survival craft, or from the water, being frequently overlooked. We know how difficult it can be, sometimes, recovering people into designated rescue craft.

But it is much more so when such craft are not available.

In the 1958 film, A Night to Remember, the master of a ship steaming to Titanic’s aid is shown issuing orders for the recovery of people from her lifeboats. It is striking to the modern seaman that this captain appears to have had more means of recovery at his command than would now be available.

In September 1994 the ferry Estonia sank in the Baltic. It is thought that over 300 people were able to escape her, but only 138 were recovered alive - and only 34 of these by ships. The others were picked up by helicopters, although the aircraft arrived long after the ships. The problems faced by the ships’ crews were immense, as Capt Esa Mäkelä described so memorably at IMRF’s Gothenburg conference. ‘And nothing,’ he said, ‘Has improved since.’

People have been trying to get improvements made, nevertheless. IMRF was part of a SAR correspondence group set up as part of IMO’s recent passenger ship safety review. This resulted in, among other things, IMO publishing a Guide to Recovery Techniques. This is available from IMO in illustrated pamphlet form, or the text may be downloaded from the IMO website (search for ‘MSC.1/Circ.1182’).

A draft SOLAS regulation has also been agreed by IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee. If finally approved, this regulation would require all ships trading internationally to have a means of recovering people, including the incapacitated, from survival craft or from the water, in sea conditions of 3m significant wave height. This would be a great improvement on trying to launch unwieldy lifeboats or dangling a lifebuoy over the side.

The proposed regulation is being resisted by some at IMO who claim it is impractical - although, as the report on the FIRST project in this issue of LIFE LINE shows, this appears not to be so.

But what do YOU think? How have you dealt with recovery problems? Are you aware of means of recovery - inexpensive but effective - useable by big ships?

To contribute to this important debate, or to raise other issues for discussion in SAR Matters, please email news@international-maritime-rescue.org.

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Delegates to the IMRF’s mass rescue conference in Gothenburg were treated to a live demonstration of a recovery system being developed by the FIRST project: First Independent Responder Safe Transfer is a project headed by the Swedish Sea Rescue Society and Stena Line.

The project team’s goal is to develop a system, equipment and methods enabling ferries and other ships to help each other in a safe and efficient way in mass evacuation situations. Off Gothenburg a large ferry, Stena Jutlandica, demonstrated the efficacy of circling to calm an area of sea for recovery work, then launched a ‘rescue runner’ which (with a second unit deployed from ashore by helicopter) manoeuvred a cradle designed to scoop up liferafts and bring them alongside the parent ship for lifting aboard loaded.

People need not be transferred from the rafts using this system - although there is necessarily a maximum size of raft that can be lifted.

The project team suggest that: • it should be mandated that liferafts are designed to be liftable with a full load of passengers; • all ships, but especially passenger ferries, should have a means of collecting rafts and should be fitted with a crane able to lift them aboard; • a practical limit on liferaft size should be set accordingly.

The team hope to show that it is feasible to rescue 500 persons per hour: 50 times the rate proposed in IMO’s draft regulation (see SAR Matters, on this page). They believe that it is both necessary and possible to recover large numbers of people following a major passenger ship accident, for example.

The rescue runner (shown on the next page) also has clear potential as a man-overboard recovery craft: the FIRST project team have been asked to give a presentation on their work at this October’s meeting of IMO’s Ship Design & Equipment Sub-Committee.

On the FIRST project website, www.first-rescue.org, there are photos and video clips from the IMRF conference demonstration in June, and from a September trial in 19 m/s (gale force 8) winds and 4m waves. Some of the photos are reproduced overleaf.

Please have a look at the FIRST website, and let the team have your comments or suggestions.

Please contribute to the SAR Matters discussion of this very important subject in LIFE LINE too.

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October 2010

The FIRST Project - in pictures

A Rescue Boat Code

The problem… and a solution? (From top:) Big ship, small rafts!; launching the rescue runner in gale force conditions, in the lee created by the ship’s circling; the rescue runner; ‘scooping‘ a raft in the project’s prototype recovery cradle; and a liftable raft being taken aboard ‘laden’.

IMRF members fulfil a vital role in saving life on the world’s waters, but what else do we have in common? It’s not the same boats, same equipment or procedures, and neither are we all charities or all government agencies. But we do all take on risk on the water; and we face other risks too - on paper.

Because the search and rescue (SAR) world is not consistently regulated nor governed, regulatory and legal risks come in various forms. A SAR organisation can be hampered by inappropriate rules or potentially exposed to litigation or unnecessary risk through a lack of appropriate guidance. These risks apply equally to long-established organisations and new services. SAR organisations which fulfil the IMO requirement to provide maritime SAR assistance may lack appropriate guidance on addressing the risks involved.

The IMRF is seeking to address this situation by developing a risk-based Code of Practice for maritime SAR operations by vessels of less than 24m in length. The Code is being developed by an international group working in close liaison with IMO to facilitate adoption by State administrations.

The working group met for the first time at the IMRF mass rescue conference in Gothenburg in June this year, and has since held a further meeting at the Danish Maritime Safety Administration in Copenhagen in September. Currently it consists of representatives from 7 countries, supported by a wider consultation group.

Good progress has been made on the early stages of the work. Key to that progress has been the development of a risk assessment model for SAR operations from the beach to the open sea. The Code will lead a SAR organisation through all aspects of risk and safety assessment to ensure that appropriate equipment, procedures and training are identified and implemented.

But it is not intended to define a set of prescriptive rules requiring all lifeboats to be built the same, or all operators to adopt the same procedures. The Code must be flexible enough to allow each organisation to continue to benefit from those designs and practices that they know provide the safety and capability essential to their own operation.

The IMRF believes that there are many benefits to be gained in developing a common Code, through the sharing of knowledge and experiences from which we all can learn. However, we are very aware that the resources of many IMRF members are limited: whatever is developed, the Code must be simple to use and implement. We understand that a large, imposing document full of detailed standards and rules will be of little help. The working group has taken the ‘keep it simple’ message to heart.

The first objective is to prepare a working draft of the Code for discussion at the IMRF’s quadrennial conference in Shanghai in August 2011: the draft will be distributed a month beforehand. The aim is to agree at the conference on the principles of the Code and the ‘roadmap’ to its full development by the end of 2013.

If you have any thoughts or comments on the project please send them to the Code project manager, Neil Chaplin, at: imrfcode@googlemail.com.

The Code working group in Copenhagen

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Regional Development Groups Regional Development Groups should: • be an informal yet effective forum for cooperation between all organisations interested in the promotion of safety on water, or providing effective maritime search and rescue services within their region • provide IMRF with invaluable insight into the priorities and problems of the region and greatly assist it to hone its developmental and assistance programmes to best match the local geographical, political, cultural and economic needs of the region.

It is hoped that Regional Developmental Groups will also build IMRF’s presence and membership levels within their region, thereby strengthening the organisation as a whole.

Regional Development Group Meeting - Europe On 4 December 2009, representatives of IMRF’s European Regional Group met in Bremen, Germany, where they were welcomed by Christel Vinnen, Vice Chairman of the host organisation, Deutsche Gesellschaft zur Rettung Schiffbrüchiger, and DGzRS Executive Director, Udo Fox. The death of Varol Atalay was noted. He will be sadly missed, not just because of his commitment to the world of maritime rescue but also because of the great friendships he made.

An outline was given to the meeting on the transition from the last European Directors’ Meeting held in Varna, Bulgaria, in October 2008 to the newly formed European Regional Meeting. (The next in the series will be held in Helsinki later this month.)

It was explained that each IMRF Region set up to date has appointed a Regional Coordinator: a leader and someone who has good liaison and links in their particular geographic area.

The key role of the Coordinator is to act as the feed back to IMRF on matters of regional importance and relevance.

October 2010

Regional Development Group Meeting - North & West Africa On 13 March 2010 the Trustees of IMRF and delegates from Morocco, Senegal, Mauritania and the Gambia were welcomed to Rabat by Mr A. Lamrani, Director of Training and SAR, Kingdom of Morocco. Mr Lamrani expressed delight at being able to host the first North and West African Regional Development Group Meeting and warmly welcomed the opportunity to share knowledge, experience and problems relating to maritime SAR. Michael Vlasto, the IMRF Chairman, expressed the wish of the IMRF Trustees to learn about the provision of SAR services in the area, with the aim of providing the regional delegates with access to the help, experience and advice available from within the IMRF. Representatives from the four States represented gave an overview of their SAR arrangements along with the challenges being experienced. The two main issues broached concerned the operations of small artisanal fishing boats and the potential need to respond to a major maritime disaster with the potential for mass casualties.

It was agreed that good and accurate communication plays a crucial part in any SAR operation. IMRF Trustee Hamish McDonald stressed the importance of ongoing operational profiling to ensure that information gathered was processed and interpreted in the correct manner for any given situation and requirement. Brooke Archbold told of how the New Zealand approach to improving maritime safety is to focus heavily on prevention of incidents through provision of educational programmes. Key to overall success is making the correct choice of methodology and resource for that specific country, region or place. There was a general discussion about communications for small craft and the pros and cons of mobile phone and/or VHF systems. The training of SAR personnel was also discussed and the importance of good communications between countries, regions and the IMRF was noted.

Discussions on funding covered a wide range of present and possible ways of raising monies from international, State, commercial and civilian sources. Michael Vlasto outlined the wealth of knowledge and experience within the IMRF which could be utilised in the provision of collaborative development opportunities within its growing membership. He reiterated the importance of each region being able to identify its own needs and then being able to draw on the experience within IMRF to assist with problem resolution. IMRF members can provide practical assistance and exchange of knowledge at all levels. However, it is essential to ensure that such exchanges are ‘fit for purpose’.

Michael outlined the need for the appointment of a Regional Coordinator to maintain momentum within the Group. It was proposed that Mohammed Drissi take this on and the representatives from all countries attending were in agreement. Drissi said that he would do all he could to develop the North and West African Regional Development Group, and hoped that this meeting would initiate further collaboration.

Rear Admiral François Célérier of France’s Société Nationale de Sauvetage en Mer (SNSM) was duly elected as Regional Coordinator for Europe.

All wished him well in his new role within the IMRF. The meeting then heard updates on IMRF activity and from the Member organisations attending.

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ICAO / IMO Joint Working Group on Harmonization of Aeronautical and Maritime SAR The UN’s International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and International Maritime Organization (IMO) are not renowned for their ability to think up catchy titles! But the Joint Working Group, primarily responsible for editorial work on the International Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue (IAMSAR) Manual, is an active and highly important contributor to global search and rescue.

The Joint Working Group was established in 1993 with the objective of assisting the ICAO and IMO Secretariats in developing harmonized provisions regarding SAR policies, procedures and techniques where both aviation and maritime services are involved. It comprises eight maritime and eight aeronautical SAR experts - chosen for their expertise, not their nationality - but also welcomes the participation of any ICAO- or IMOaccredited organisation. IMRF have played an active part in the Group accordingly.

On the maritime side, the Group takes direction from, and reports to, the Radiocommunications and SAR Sub-Committee (COMSAR) at IMO, which in turn reports to the Maritime Safety Committee. The Group’s work may thus result in changes to the international Conventions - the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Convention, or the Maritime SAR Convention - or in new or revised international shipping regulations or SAR-related guidelines, as well as amendments to the IAMSAR Manual itself. It is in the nature of inter-governmental regulatory work that it proceeds slowly - but the Joint Working Group’s labours can in time be of significant importance to us all.

The Group’s 17th session was held in Bremen, Germany, from 27 September to 1 October 2010. IMRF Trustee Udo Fox hosted the meeting at the German Maritime Search and Rescue Service (DGzRS)’ headquarters. The Group are seen above, gathered in front of the DGzRS’s historic rescue cruiser H J Kratschke.

As well as noting updates from IMO and ICAO on various SAR initiatives, the Joint Working Group discussed advances in communications technology; guidance on the Aircraft Coordinator’s role in SAR; a structured amendment process for the IAMSAR manual (which has tended to be amended piecemeal before, leading to some omissions and contradictions); improvements to the dissemination of information on SAR services available; a new circular on safety and SAR in oceanic yacht racing; early activation of Emergency Locator Transmitters (ELTs) and Emergency PositionIndicating Radio Beacons (EPIRBs); Unmanned Aircraft Systems; Canada’s Major Air Disaster (MAJAID) plan, developed to provide assistance in remote areas; guidance material on SAR service quality assurance programmes; the use of commercial locating, tracking and emergency notification devices; the need to retain the 121.5 MHz final homing capability on distress beacons; continuing problems of beacon (mis-)registration and non-responsive SAR points of contact; the development of operational requirements for the next generation 406 MHz distress beacons; and SAR staff training. It was evidently a busy week!

The Joint Working Group also noted the IMRF’s mass rescue conference series (see reports above) and kindly thanked IMRF for reporting the Gothenburg conference’s conclusions; information which may well lead to useful amendments to the IAMSAR Manual in the future. The Group very much supported the initiative of this kind of conference, as well as the holding of international exercises with several countries involved, and recommended that ICAO and IMO encourage Member States to actively co-operate in this area.

Pending approval by ICAO and IMO, the next meeting of the Joint Working Group is scheduled to be held in Norway, 3-7 October 2011.

And finally…

We hope that you have found this first issue of the revitalised LIFE LINE informative and useful. We are well aware that there is much more going on among IMRF’s membership that could and should be reported here, to the benefit of all - but, of course, we rely on you, the reader, to tell us about it!

Please remember: news@international-maritime-rescue.org: let’s spread the word, for the benefit of all at risk on the world’s waters.

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