LIFE LINE
October 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
an inspiring tale of survival from the Andaman Sea IMRF meetings and workshops in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Hong Kong updates on the IMRF rescue boat guidelines and crew exchange projects December news from Costa Rica, Uganda, Tanzania, the Baltic, the Gambia and Papua New Guinea 2010 and more!
December 2010
Hope
December 2010
The Editor writes:
We have an extraordinary story for you in this edition of LIFE LINE. The young man you see in the pictures, being rescued by HTMS Pattani of the Royal Thai Navy after an extensive SAR operation, is Mohammad Mobarak Hossain, Second Officer of a ship called Hope, abandoned after developing a severe list in heavy seas south of Phuket. He has been in the sea for more than 40 hours. In August I visited the Bangladesh Marine Academy, in Chittagong, to speak to the students about maritime SAR. The Academy’s Commandant, Sajid Hussain, asked if I would mind giving up some of the time allocated for my talk to allow Second Officer Mobarak to recount his experience. “He may not speak for long,” said Sajid. This was only a month after his ordeal, and addressing an audience of more than 500 would be daunting. I said yes, of course; and we agreed that he should speak in Bangla (the Academy is English-medium) to make it a little easier. I do not speak Bangla – but when this young officer spoke, for 20 minutes and without notes, re-living his nightmare so that we could learn from it, I found that I was as riveted as everyone else in the hall. His was clearly an astonishing tale of survival – and, yes, hope. We in SAR need to hear more from survivors. We need to remember what amazing things they can do. Second Officer Mobarak has very kindly agreed to tell you his story. See page 6.
December 2010 December 2010 December 2010 December 2010 December 2010 December 2010 December 2010 December 2010
The International Maritime Rescue Federation is a registered company limited by guarantee in the United Kingdom and registered as a charity in England and Wales Patron: Efthimios E. Mitropoulos, Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization, 2004-2011
December 2010
Registered office: IMRF West Quay Road Poole BH15 1HZ United Kingdom Company Registration Number: 4852596 Charity Registration Number: 1100883
www.international-maritime-rescue.org
December 2010 December
LIFE LINE
October 2013
Editorial Welcome to the latest edition of your newsletter. As you will have seen from our front page, we have the privilege of hearing from an extraordinary survivor in this edition of LIFE LINE – and I make no apology for devoting more than the usual amount of space to Second Officer Mobarak’s story. Many readers, operating purpose-built rescue craft, would have found the rescue easier, I’m sure; and HTMS Pattani eventually carried it out with great professionalism. But the difficulties experienced by the other ships, both as regards location and recovery, demonstrate why the IMRF has devoted attention to these problems in recent years, including a recent review of the IMO guidance on recovery techniques (see page 9). There are SAR improvements still to be made.
Contents Hope ................................. Editorial ................................. Dates for the Diary ................................. The IMRF in Bangladesh ................... The IMRF in Sri Lanka ................... The IMRF in Hong Kong ................... Società Nazionale di Salvamento ... SAR Matters: Hope ................................. Rescue Boat Guidelines ................... European Crew Exchange ................... SAR-506 ................................. ICAO/IMO Joint Working Group ... Water skills training, Uganda ................... Water skills training, Tanzania ................... News from the Baltic ................... News from the Gambia ................... News from Papua New Guinea ... Honours for IMRF stalwarts ................... Send us your news & pictures ...
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Dates for the Diary Second Officer Mobarak addresses the cadets and staff of the Bangladesh Marine Academy
I should also note that I have not sought to cover the whole story of the abandonment of mv Hope, the rescue of some of her crew, and the loss of others. These matters will still be under formal investigation, and it would be wrong to express any views based on partial evidence – other than the obvious ones that I have already expressed: there is room for improvement (and always will be), and this is a survivor’s tale that we need to hear. *** In other news, IMRF Trustees and officers have had a busy couple of months, including taking lead parts in SAR conferences and workshops in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Hong Kong (see pages 3-4). We have updates on our rescue boat guidelines and crew exchange projects, too – and, of course, SAR news from around the world. Whether arguing over the minutiae of IMO texts in Amsterdam or showing kids how to stay safe on an African beach, the IMRF and IMRF Members are in the thick of it!
Baltic ACO Course
15-18 October 2013
To be held in Finland. Contact matti.salokorpi@raja.fi for details.
IMRF European Regional Development Meeting 18-19 October 2013 To be held in Estonia. Contact a.laing@imrf.org.uk 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.
International OSC Course
4-8 November 2013
To be held in Finland. Contact matti.salokorpi@raja.fi for details.
Maritime Search and Rescue Asia
11 November 2013
To be held in Singapore. See www.maritimesearchrescueasia.com.
‘Gothenburg 3’: the next in the IMRF’s mass rescue operations conference series 1-3 June 2014 Hosted by the Swedish Sea Rescue Society. Details in the December edition of LIFE LINE.
World Maritime Rescue Congress
1-4 June 2015
Advance notice of the IMRF’s next Congress and quadrennial general meeting. Details in due course.
I hope you enjoy the read. Dave Jardine-Smith news@imrf.org.uk
www.international-maritime-rescue.org
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
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Reducing the number of lives lost in the waters of Bangladesh is a top priority for the Government and the country's search and rescue services. Now some important new initiatives have been agreed upon following a maritime mass rescue operations workshop with the IMRF. The waterways of Bangladesh are the nation’s primary transport network – and accidents occur often. More than a thousand lives are lost each year at sea, around the coast, and in inland waters in a country its own inhabitants refer to as a ‘delta’. Shallow draft passenger launches are double- and even triple-decked, making the hazard of overloading a significant challenge. Bangladesh Coast Guard grasped the opportunity to meet with the IMRF and to host a Maritime Mass Rescue Workshop, coordinating the attendance of other agencies involved in maritime SAR operations in the country, and ensuring that the event was a great success. It was the first ever international workshop held in Bangladesh on this subject and with the support of the hosts, in particular the Minister for Home Affairs Dr Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir, led to some very effective inter-agency discussions.
The IMRF in Bangladesh Bangladesh Coast Guard has applied for IMRF membership, appreciating the benefits of becoming more integrated in the international maritime SAR community. As a rapidly developing organization, the Coast Guard is keen to take advantage of the contacts and information-sharing provided by the IMRF and its member organisations. A good example of this is a general SAR Manual, composed in Bangla, written after two Coast Guard officers attended training in the UK and Ireland's Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) College in Poole, England. On their return, they used the knowledge they had gained and adapted some of the RNLI resource materials to produce the manual.
IMRF Trustee Brooke Archbold, CEO Bruce Reid, and Chairman Michael Vlasto at the Sadarghat launch terminal
waterside and travelling communities of Bangladesh, and reducing the number of drownings". The IMRF also visited Coast Guard headquarters for round-table discussions; and the Sadarghat launch terminal in Dhaka, where Coast Guard and Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority staff deal with the challenges of managing some 25 million people transiting the terminal and eight million tonnes of cargo being handled annually.
(Left to right, seated:) Rear Admiral Hossain; the Honourable Advocate Shamsul Hoque Tuku, State Minister for Home Affairs; the Honourable Minister, Dr Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir; and Vice Admiral Mohammad Farid Habib, Chief of Staff, Bangladesh Navy, listen to Michael Vlasto’s opening address at the MRO workshop
Bangladesh is a country facing very significant environmental challenges, and there was extensive discussion of disaster and emergency coordination responsibilities: ‘disaster’ in this context relating to cyclones or floods, whereas ‘significant maritime events’ as portrayed in the workshop exercise are better described as surpassing the ordinary capability of any organisation to manage routinely.
It was agreed that further discussion is necessary between the agencies involved. In his closing remarks at the end of the workshop Rear Admiral Kazi Sarwar Hossain, Bangladesh Coast Guard’s Director General, suggested the development of a National Strategic SAR Committee to help address the challenges identified. www.international-maritime-rescue.org
"The IMRF really appreciates the level of interest generated by our visit and workshop,” said IMRF Chairman Michael Vlasto. “We were impressed by the commitment and genuine enthusiasm displayed by the local agencies to work together to improve maritime safety and SAR responses". He added: "We are delighted that the Honourable Minister for Home Affairs gave so much of his time for discussions with us and that he kindly inaugurated the workshop. This commitment to a key area of his portfolio augurs well for the further development of the services provided by the Coast Guard and the other agencies involved in protecting the
The visit to Sadarghat underpinned some of the challenges discussed in the workshop. “The combination of river conditions, extreme weather, flooding and the huge number of people on the water at any given time, make this a particularly difficult area to provide SAR coverage", noted IMRF CEO Bruce Reid.
(Above:) the MRO workshop in full swing; and (below) IMRF Trustees and officials meet for discussions with officers of Bangladesh Coast Guard
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The IMRF in Sri Lanka...
capsize; and the fishing fleet, with many small vessels lacking a means of communicating with SAR organisations when they get into difficulty.
The Life Saving Association of Sri Lanka (LSASL) hosted the IMRF in August at an event attended by 40 regional coordinators, rescue volunteers and other SAR service representatives. The LSASL has just become a member of the IMRF and having the Chairman and CEO of the charity present for open forum discussions proved to be highly productive. “LSASL is continuing to develop its capability and the statistics relating to lives saved are impressive on a comparative basis,” says Michael Vlasto, IMRF Chairman. “The IMRF is keen to share our members’ knowledge, resources and experience to help with the development of SAR organisations in Sri Lanka.” The forum addressed ways in which the IMRF could help. The key topics discussed were training of volunteers, sourcing funds, planning for the future, and developing collaboration with other government and nongovernment SAR organisations. Water-related mass rescue, as part of the disaster management process for Sri Lanka, was on the agenda and the IMRF suggested that a workshop similar to that successfully run in Bangladesh (see page 3) would be of value in the future. There was also a comprehensive presentation by the Sri Lanka Coast Guard on the challenging but increasingly successful lifesaving work being carried out by their rapidly developing service. IMRF CEO Bruce Reid says: “The visits to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have strengthened links between the IMRF and local SAR agencies and have given further proof of the value of international cooperation. “We are confident that we will be sharing views on how to save lives in and around their waters at future events, leading to more effective SAR services in the region.” www.international-maritime-rescue.org
LSASL President Sanath Wijayaratne presents Michael Vlasto with a plaque to mark LSASL’s joining the IMRF
...and Hong Kong Communication and consistency are key to saving lives in the congested waters of the Asia Pacific region. Improving the SAR communications infrastructure, advancing an integrated regional radio network, and developing common systems and procedures among SAR organisations in the area would be of great help. These were some of the conclusions drawn from the IMRF’s Asia Pacific regional meeting in Hong Kong in early September, when 17 SAR organisations agreed the need for a plan to improve lifesaving across this huge and busy region.
The Asia Pacific development meeting, attended by representatives of 17 SAR organisations
The meeting identified developing trends, such as an increasing number of super cruise liners each carrying 6000 persons or more; increased crossing ferry traffic leading to a greater risk of collision; and growing populations resulting in more use of the congested waterways for multipurpose transportation of people and cargo. Particularly vulnerable groups include passenger ferries, because of overloading and the potential for
IMRF Chairman Michael Vlasto said: "The IMRF can help in a number of ways, including promoting interagency and inter-State research to establish areas of best practice, and providing a common resource library to file that information. We can also act as a third party facilitator with Governments to assist services and actively support SAR development. "Training is another important dimension,” he added. “We can facilitate this, building links between SAR organisations to enable the sharing of ideas and initiatives.” Other challenges for the region include differing SAR structures between States, variations in SAR equipment and procedures, the danger of smaller vessels not being regulated or policed, difficulty in securing funding, and the need to increase public water safety awareness & education. A Mass Rescue Operations Workshop held as part of this meeting considered an incident occurring well offshore. The subsequent discussion identified at an operational level what had been discussed strategically at the regional meeting. “All of this points to the need for a consistent approach, expanding the current bilateral SAR agreements into a regional one," suggested the IMRF’s Bruce Reid. "The structure for this is laid out in the International Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue (IAMSAR) Manual, so we are really talking about how to put this into practice across the region.”
John Geel, of IMRF Member the Royal Netherlands Sea Rescue Institution (KNRM), who facilitated the workshop, discusses a point with a break-out group
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Member Focus: SNS, Italy We have a long history, writes Romano Grandi of the SNS. In fact, the Società Nazionale di Salvamento (National Rescue Society) was founded in Genoa on 1871, recognised as a “Moral Institution” by the King of Italy in 1876, and bases all its social activity on the Articles of Association of the time, still valid today. The Articles lay down that the SNS shall provide for “…rescue at sea, on rivers and on lakes… the relief of shipwrecked persons… the prevention of asphyxia due to immersion… drowning prevention… and the spreading of seamanship and physical and moral development among young people…” These are activities which are still carried on by SNS members. Today, SNS is a not-for-profit organisation, a registered member of the Government Civil Protection Department as the “volunteers’ association of national interest for water emergencies”. The SNS Head Office is located in Genoa, with more than 240 local offices spread all over the peninsula, the islands, rivers and great lakes. About 85,000 SNS lifeguards work every summer season on privately managed beaches and, year-round, in swimming pools, where it is compulsory to have a lifeguard presence. Many of our lifeguards work voluntarily on beaches freely open to the public, where it is not compulsory to station lifeguards. From the legal point of view, the Italian Coast Guard have responsibility regarding safety of life at sea. So the Coast Guard lays down the procedure for the organisation and management of beach rescue, and the equipment, both technical and medical (first aid), that every lifeguard station must have. The Coast Guard also approves the technical and theoretical programme of training courses for new lifeguards, and chairs the examination commissions for the licenses issued at the end of each course. But the Coast Guard can’t be present all along the 8000 km of the national coast line. So, during the summer season, a fleet of RIBs and water-jets with towed stretchers, crewed by specially trained SNS lifeguards, works along the inshore waters, engaging in preventative patrolling and intervening in case of emergency. This is done voluntarily or based on agreements with the local Municipalities for the pure costs of the service.
October 2013
The reanimation and first-aid teaching method follows the International Liaison Committee On Resuscitation (ILCOR) guidelines agreed at the last World Congress on Drowning Prevention (in Da Nang, Vietnam, 2011). Among the most important points is to re-establish oxygenation and breathing as soon as possible, followed by lengthy reanimation attempts after the rescue. The guidelines also cover the most efficacious procedures for Basic Life Support, and the use of defibrillators. Some SNS teams take special courses in river or flood rescue. Others take courses on the recovery of people cut off on beaches or rocks under cliffs. Some have made themselves available to the national and international communities, turning their social commitment and skills to responding to emergencies such as earthquakes. They have, for instance, helped after the war in Yugoslavia, in Kosovo, and in Sri Lanka after the 2004 tsunami. And the Civil Protection Department presented a Gold Medal to the SNS in recognition of our response to the Abruzzo earthquake on 6 April 2009. Special mention should be given to the SNS’s ‘education and prevention’ programme. We are convinced that education is the best ‘remedy’: avoiding water emergencies through improved awareness of the dangers related to swimming or other water sports. SNS and the Ministry of Education, University and Research have agreed a memorandum of understanding for primary and secondary education in a water safety culture. The schools programme includes an information campaign: “I learn for me”, “I learn for others”, “I rescue others”. Other fun events are organised in cooperation with the Coast Guard with the same aim: the “My Friend The Sea Day”, for example. And, as well as these other initiatives, the SNS has made two short cartoons for children available for all IMRF Members on the IMRF website: click on “Projects – education and prevention”. A new cartoon, lasting about 12 minutes, is now in production.
The vocational training of SNS lifeguards follows two sets of guidelines. The technical training covers rescue swimming, rescue holds in the water, and the transport of the drowning person back to the beach using the necessary equipment, together with the rules and procedures established by the local Coast Guard Office for beach rescue services. www.international-maritime-rescue.org
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SAR Matters This column provides a forum for LIFE LINE readers worldwide to contribute to debate on any relevant SAR issue. You can join in, or propose new items for discussion, by emailing news@imrf.org.uk. Or you can join the discussion on our SAR Matters Blog, online at www.international-maritime-rescue.org. Have a look at previous discussions too, in the LIFE LINE archive. In this edition we have something different for you: an extraordinary story of survival from the Andaman Sea: see pages 1 & 2. We are very grateful to Mohammad Mobarak Hossain for agreeing to share his story. rd
3 July, 2013. I went on the bridge at 2300: every day I used to take over my watch one hour before due time, and that day also I did so. The Captain went below. From the beginning of the passage the sea was rough. The ship was rolling and pitching simultaneously. But about 0015 I observed a sudden smoothing of the sea. The pitching stopped but the ship was still rolling. But this rolling was different. The ship rolled to starboard about 2 to 5 degrees and came upright. But we didn’t roll to port. That made me suspicious. I called the Master and told him about the ship’s abnormal behaviour. While talking we felt another roll to starboard – bigger than before. He said, “I am coming to the bridge.” I started to alter the ship’s course to eastward as wind and swell were from the west. In the meantime the Chief Officer also called the bridge, asking about the ship’s list. I suggested he come to the bridge too. By the time the Master and Chief Officer arrived the rolling had reached about 15 degrees. The Master ordered the Chief Officer to prepare the lifeboats and all the other relevant safety equipment. The Master and I remained on the bridge. We sent a distress alert by all available means. The Captain asked the 2nd Engineer to attend the engine room: if necessary we would ring the telegraph for him to leave. I collected all the GMDSS equipment, gathered it in a bag and sent it to the boat station. By this time the ship had listed to almost 35 degrees. Everything was falling down from port side to starboard side. The bridge floor became slippery: it was raining. We couldn’t walk properly.
October 2013
Two ships acknowledged our distress signal. One was 12 miles ahead of us, another 4 miles on our port beam. We asked the second ship for assistance. She followed us for about an hour, maintaining half mile distance, while we tried to reach the coast. Suddenly there was a blackout on the ship. I became nd worried about the 2 Engineer: he was in the engine room and it would be difficult to come up. I went onto the bridge wing and shouted to the crew, “Someone go down nd with a torch to bring out the 2 Engineer.” But he was already there. The Master and I came down from the bridge. But when we arrived at the boat station we found that nothing had been prepared: there was panic. So I didn’t bother anybody and began getting the liferaft ready to be lowered, helped only by one of the deck cadets. Once the liferaft was lowered, I thought we should all wait aboard until it was clear the ship would sink. I went back to the bridge to collect the relevant charts and other important items. But while going up the stairs I could hear the sound of people jumping into the water. I had a look from the bridge wing and saw the Chief Officer jumping. After taking the charts from the bridge I came down & nd found nobody onboard except me & the 2 Engineer. I saw that some of the crew couldn’t catch the liferaft: they were floating away with the current. The Chief Officer was one of them. The Captain boarded the liferaft safely. From there he was shouting, “Jump! Jump! We are waiting for you. I am going to cut the painter line.” Then I thought I nd should join the group. I suggested to the 2 Engineer that he should jump. But he said to me to jump first. I jumped from the starboard quarter, wearing lifejacket and immersion suit. I was swimming to join the liferaft but it was drifting away. I could see the Captain very near to me and could hear him shout, “Get hold of my hand, hold my hand!” But I couldn’t catch hold of it. Someone from the raft threw a lifebuoy. I caught that but couldn’t reach the liferaft. The current pushed me away. The ship standing by observed that I couldn’t board the liferaft. She came to rescue me. But she was heading for me at speed. She came too close: her bulbous bow injured my right hand and leg. She had rigged a pilot ladder and two lifebuoys on each side. But I couldn’t catch hold of them because of her bow wave. She approached a second time. But I was scared, as I had been struck by the bow and injured the first time, and I swam away. From the water I was shouting to them to lower the rescue boat. But they didn’t. A third time she started to head towards me. Now I was thinking that I shouldn’t be scared. I should catch hold of the bow or a lifebuoy or ladder. Though I might be injured, I would survive. So I was maintaining a position right ahead of the ship. Her bulbous bow was out of the water: she was a bigger ship than ours. Then the bow hit my head and I sank deep underwater.
Hope, listing to about 40° (photo: Royal Thai Navy)
www.international-maritime-rescue.org
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My lifejacket and lifebuoy floated me up again. But I was sucked up under the bottom of the ship. To save my head I tried to fend off the keel with my left arm. The ship was running over me and took off the flesh. I was swallowing sea water through my nose and mouth. Luckily I came out from under the ship. I found I was bleeding from both my hands, my head and my leg. My immersion suit was torn and water was getting in. So I took the suit off. I shouted to the ship’s crew, telling them I was injured and asking them to lower a rescue boat. They heard me but did nothing. I saw no lookout forward on any of the three approaches. After that I started floating again with my lifejacket & lifebuoy. Suddenly I started vomiting. That went on for a long time. During this time I saw that a few lights were floating here and there. One of them came close to me. I shouted to him. It was one of the deck cadets. We swam to each other, and floated holding hands. Suddenly a big swell came and the cadet lost his lifejacket. He became nervous and said, “What will happen to me? I will die.” He started swimming to catch his lifejacket again. But I didn’t let him go. I said, “If you leave me you will be lost. Don’t worry. We will stay together. Come inside my lifebuoy. We will face the situation together.” I took him inside my lifebuoy: we were stowed so compactly that nothing could knock us out of it. We waited for the liferaft to be rescued, believing that the ship would then come back for us. But after sunrise she went away and was lost to sight. The sea current was opposite to the direction of the swell. As most of us was under water, we were moving against the swell. Around 9 or 10 o’clock in the morning I saw a helicopter and a ship with a blue hull about 6 or 7 miles away from us. We tried to attract their attention by waving our lifejacket but nobody saw us. I was thinking that if I had my walkie-talkie with me I could contact them. But all the GMDSS equipment, including my walkie-talkie, had been transferred to the liferaft. After some while the helicopter and the ship went away. I watched the sun to determine the way we were floating. I realised that we were drifting westward where there was no coast, no land and no shipping routes. I became sure that we would die. Most of the time I was thinking about the Captain’s hand and regretting that only that little distance had meant that I couldn’t join the raft. I thought that everybody in the liferaft would surely survive. After some time I found some fishes were biting our toes & fingers. Luckily they were not so big: their length was less than a metre. If I kept my legs still, the fish started to bite. For that reason I kept moving my legs all the time. About 1400 I heard a loud cry: “Allah!” I shouted, “Who is there? Raise your hand. Come closer.” But there was no reply. Around an hour later I saw a body floating close to us. We swam to it: it was one of the oilers. We checked thoroughly whether he was alive, but he was dead. I released the body and again started floating. We were experiencing a very high swell and as we were www.international-maritime-rescue.org
October 2013
floating against it I was getting hurt by each wave. I could hardly tolerate the situation. I couldn’t see any possibility of being rescued. I accepted death. My pain became meaningless to me because today or tomorrow I would die. Once, I convinced myself to leave the lifejacket and get down underwater. But I didn’t do that just to check my stamina. My whole body became numb with pain but I didn’t lose hope. I was fighting for life in the deep sea. Just before sunset I saw two more bodies floating ahead of us, moving up and down in the high swell. One of them was alive: he was shouting. The other was our Captain and he was dead. But I couldn’t reach them. The sun set and they became invisible. Everything was dark. Our lifejacket light had died as it only had 8 hours’ life. The cadet slept on my back. He was cold too and asked permission to hug me. Sometimes ships were visible. I could see one ship near to us. I started to blow the lifejacket whistle. I think that ship heard my whistle but couldn’t identify us as we had no lights. Later we saw some fishing net lights. We tried to reach them but were unable to for the high swell. Both of us hardly survived the second night. After sunrise I couldn’t control my sleepy eyes. I slept and the cadet was awake. The swell splashed my face and kept waking me up. Slowly I was losing my normal mental condition. I was experiencing hallucinations: I had the feeling that our ship had been re-boarded by everyone except us. About 4 o’clock in the afternoon I opened my eyes and saw a ship near to us. She threw two lifebuoys with lines. I told the cadet to catch one. He caught the forward one and was able to climb in. I caught the aft one and found myself beneath the curvature of the ship’s hull. They were pulling the lifebuoy. But I was getting scratched against the hull. So I left the buoy & started floating again. They too did not lower a rescue boat. After floating for half an hour more I saw a Thai Navy ship, and found two divers in the water. A stretcher was lowered by winch. The divers helped me into it. I was rescued just before sunset. If the sun had set, I would not have lived. I had no lights and gradually I was losing my stamina. For that I feel very lucky. After floating for more than 40 hours I was rescued at last. Aboard the Navy ship they gave me primary treatment then took me to the hospital by helicopter. After being rescued I heard that not everyone had been rescued from the liferaft. The first rescue ship had hit the liferaft with her bow as she did me. The raft capsized and everyone was scattered. Only five men could be brought aboard the ship. Another crew member survived by holding onto the liferaft: a helicopter rescued him. Mobarak was the last of nine of Hope’s crew to be rescued. Two bodies were recovered, including that of the nd Chief Officer. The Captain and the 2 Engineer are among the missing. page 7
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October 2013
European Crew Exchange Rescue volunteers from nine European nations are participating in a seven-day Lifeboat Crew Exchange Programme sharing experiences and knowledge, to improve maritime SAR responses, and to help to prevent loss of life in Europe's waters.
The IMRF Rescue Boat Guidelines project: next steps IMRF CEO Bruce Reid writes: I am pleased to advise that the Rescue Boat Guidelines (RBG) project – which has had a few stops and starts, due to circumstances beyond our control – is on the way to the finishing line. Our plans to bring in Remmi Pedersen to manage the project were reported earlier in the year (LIFE LINE, February). Good people are hard to keep hold of, though, and unfortunately for the IMRF Remmi received an offer of work he couldn’t refuse and he was not able to take up the role. This forced a rethink of the plan. Parts 1 and 2 of the project are completed with the base model of the RBG application developed in Excel. This means that there are two parts left to complete, as well as the development of an RBG Workshop. Part 3 is the on-line application. Part 4 is the on-line resource library. To keep the project advancing the decision has been made to build the application and the library. Once these are completed we can fill in the gaps. The on-line system and a trial version of the application is now ready for the RBG working group to review and modify. Once this work has been completed we will review the content and develop the balance of the fields. The key areas on which we will be seeking input from our membership will be: Revising the equipment content Development of and agreement on the training content Adding content to the resource library Trial of the application We will keep you posted as this key project evolves – and in the meantime a big thank you to all involved for the work you have done and are about to do. www.international-maritime-rescue.org
The crews involved collectively commit thousands of hours every year to serving their communities, helping keep those going out on the water safe. The seven intensive days they will spend with their counterparts from the other rescue organisations on the exchange provide a perfect platform to share their experiences, knowledge and best practice in maritime SAR matters. The exchange comprises simulated SAR exercises as well as training modules from the host organisation in areas such as first aid, navigation, off-road driving, crisis management, leadership and maritime English. Participants also experience day- and night-time exercises including towing, man-overboard recovery, sea survival, lifeguarding, recovering boats and helicopter transfers. “Collaboration and experience-sharing is key to improving maritime SAR responses,” says the IMRF’s Bruce Reid. “The European Lifeboat Crew Exchange Programme is a great example of how knowledge on best practice in maritime SAR can be shared. With IMRF coordination, these volunteer rescue organisations can cost-effectively share the burden of developing rescue capability, to help meet the ever-growing challenges in European waters by learning from the experiences of others.” Each organisation operates its own training programme because of the specialist activities they carry out and the conditions they operate in. The crew members experience this training first-hand over the course of the week, exposing them to new training content as well as the different styles and approaches their hosts may use. The project is managed by Linde Jelsma of IMRF members the Royal Netherlands Sea Rescue Institution (KNRM). The programme is now in its second year, with funding secured through the Life Long Learning Programme of the European Union for this year and 2014. Linde has been very pleased with the feedback from the first exchange, and received good support for continuing the programme from all the organisations involved. “We now have a model in place to build and improve on, knowing that there is support in place until the end of 2014,” she says. “We have been working hard with the coordinators from each country to make this year’s experience a step up on the successful programme we ran last year.” page 8
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SAR-506 Alvaro A Riba writes from Costa Rica: Because of its geography, Costa Rica is an absolutely coastal nation. Its marine area surpasses its surface area by ten times. The country presents an enormous habitat diversity, with a vast quantity of organisms that reach an estimated 3.5% of worldwide marine biodiversity. Given these characteristics, it is no wonder that Costa Rica has a constant influx of tourists. It is a local custom to just jump in the water at any beach without a care for tides and rip currents. Since there are no warning flags or posted signs, tourists assume that the beaches are safe. Besides, anybody can operate any kind of boat and go in whichever direction they want in the ocean. Regulations are in place but not followed. No safety courses, no precautions, radio, flares or any type of safety instructions in case of emergencies are available to beachgoers and boaters. So every year there are numerous drowning victims and accidents in the water. But records are not well kept, so the lessons are not being learned.
October 2013
ICAO / IMO Joint Working Group on SAR Apart from its many other areas of work, the IMRF is the representative voice of maritime SAR – the ‘nonGovernmental organisation in consultative status’, as the jargon puts it – at the IMO. This means that we can speak for our Members and for maritime SAR on the world stage, at the appropriate technical body of the United Nations. But SAR is not only maritime, of course. While SAR on land is largely a matter for individual States to look after, the UN’s International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) also has an obvious interest in the subject. So the two agencies – IMO and ICAO – established a Joint Working Group (JWG) 20 years ago to harmonise aeronautical and maritime SAR response. The JWG meets annually, to deal with matters referred to it by its two parent organisations. This year’s meeting has just been held, in Amsterdam, and David Jardine-Smith of the IMRF was there.
SAR 506 is a new organization willing to take on this challenge. We have started collecting statistical information to create a chart of dangerous areas along the Costa Rican coastal waters, specifying the kind of danger at each point. For this we are interviewing the local police, fire department, Red Cross, and the local fishermen’s associations, as they are the most apt to provide us with local information about events in their communities. Another goal is to raise marine safety awareness among Costa Ricans, and to put together the first water safety course in the country, working with the National Institute of Learning (INA) and individuals in the private sector. One approach will be to have new boat owners take the course as part of the initiation they receive when they make their purchase at a dealership. We are starting with this awareness program at the marinas. To boaters that travel more than 30 miles off the coast, we suggest to carry liferafts, and if they are into tourism as a business, we also suggest tracking devices so they can be found in case of any emergency.
Members and Observers of the JWG, deep in debate
One of the primary purposes of the JWG is to act as an editorial board for the International Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue (IAMSAR) Manual. It is now working on the edition to be published in 2016. (If you haven’t got your copy of the 2013 edition yet, remember you can save 20% by buying at the IMRF Bookshop! See www.international-maritime-rescue.org.)
Among other 2016 IAMSAR texts reviewed in Amsterdam was a final revision of the guidance on search Success: they’re wearing lifejackets! times for people believed to be in the water. This revision stems from the work done by an Important to our organization are the 930 retired police IMRF-coordinated expert group, as previously reported in officers who are becoming our members through an LIFE LINE. Similarly the JWG reviewed and approved, agreement with the Police Department of Costa Rica. We with minor amendments, the IMRF’s revision of the want to be present at the most popular beaches, where guidance on recovery techniques – how to get people out most tourists as well as locals congregate, and these are of the water, particularly into big ships. the people who will make this possible. We want to raise awareness on the spot, give information about the tides, rip currents and other local hazards, and remind bathers about safety, without being obtrusive. We have a big challenge ahead of us. www.international-maritime-rescue.org
Other work the IMRF will continue to take part in is to do with improving mass rescue operations; the response to emergency beacon alerts; and the IMO’s review of the Global Maritime Distress & Safety System – the GMDSS. page 9
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IMRF Members work in various ways to save lives in the world’s waters. All will agree that prevention is as good as cure – better, indeed, especially in those parts of the world that cannot yet afford dedicated SAR units. As the two stories on this page show, you can save lives by simply talking on a beach...
Water Skills Training in Uganda Royal Life Saving Society Uganda have contacted news@imrf.org.uk to tell us that they have started to train five fishermen on a beach on Lake Victoria. The five, some of whom have recently returned from fishing in Tanzania, are headed by Mr Buga Yusuf, owner of a fishing boat. He and his crew took the initiative to learn basic water skills after nine of their colleagues perished in a drowning incident in the lake on 23 July. The owner of the boat concerned was among those who perished.
October 2013
...and in Tanzania The lives of hundreds of African children will be safer around water thanks to a lifesaving programme which is being run in Tanzania. The Aquatic Survival Programme is being introduced by IMRF Member the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI). It has two key aims: to deliver water safety messages to school children, and to teach children basic survival swimming. The charity is training local teachers, community leaders and scout leaders to deliver vital water safety messages, working closely with a local Zanzibari community-based organisation called The Panje Project, which is providing important ‘on the ground’ support, involving local people and schools in the programme. The first run of the programme is taking place in the village of Nungwi in Zanzibar, where ten local people are being trained by the RNLI on water safety issues. Five of them are receiving additional training in how to teach self-survival and rescue – or basic survival swimming. They will then deliver the sessions to local children, to put their learning into practice immediately. Over the course of two weeks, at least 300 children aged 7-14 are being taught about water safety and 30-40 children are being taught selfsurvival and rescue.
David, Austin & Kadafi, members and Volunteer Instructors with RLSS-Uganda, with three of the fishermen taking part in the training. (Mr Buga Yusuf is at centre.)
Mr Buga had this to say: “I want to learn basic water skills to avoid being a victim of drowning like my colleagues Isma, the owner of the boat, and eight of his crew members. “Out of 16 who were involved in the accident seven were able to survive because they had basic water skills.” Royal Life Saving Society Uganda hope that with time more of the Lake Victoria fishermen will have at least basic water skills – and lives will be saved as a result. www.international-maritime-rescue.org
The World Health Organisation estimates that Africa has the highest continental drowning rate in the world. There is currently no global swim-survival programme for lowresource countries, so the RNLI has worked closely with other key organisations to create this unique programme. An Aquatic Survival Programme manual has been designed specifically, and is being used to deliver the training. It will then be available as an open-source resource for local people to use. The manual covers how to set up and run the programme – from finding a suitable location, to sourcing funding and delivering the training.
(Photo: RNLI/Mike Lavis)
If this first run of the programme is successful, the RNLI will begin to roll it out across Africa next year. Steve Wills, the RNLI’s international development manager, explains: “Drowning is a leading cause of death worldwide, and is particularly prevalent in Africa. Teaching water safety and swim-survival skills to children means they have the knowledge and skills for life, significantly reducing their chances of dying from drowning in the future. “The RNLI’s priority is to make sure we give local people the skills and resources to continue delivering this tuition to children once our trainers have left the country. By focusing on helping others to help themselves, we’re equipping them with the knowledge and skills to develop and sustain their own lifesaving programme.” Separately, before the start of the Aquatic Survival Programme in Zanzibar, three RNLI lifeguard trainers ran a lifeguard training programme in Dar es Salaam. They taught essential lifeguarding skills to 30 participants from Tanzania, Zanzibar and Uganda, covering the crucial first steps of lifeguarding and also delivering a ‘train the trainer’ course. This will enable the trainee lifeguards to teach the skills they learn to others – again ensuring that they are able to set up and sustain their own lifeguarding service. This initiative is a fine example of a fundamental purpose of the IMRF: the sharing of skills and experience to improve water safety, survival and rescue around the world. The RNLI, for example, provide a range of services such as training, supply of equipment, safety education, and guidance on SAR frameworks and flood resilience. page 10
LIFE LINE
News from the Baltic There are a number of exciting SAR initiatives in the Baltic to report. First, the Finnish Border Guard has launched a maritime SAR project that will encompass the entire region. The project, the Baltic Sea Maritime Incident Response Survey, will identify the major national operating models that Baltic States have implemented for preparing for, and responding to, large-scale, multisectoral maritime accidents. It aims to disseminate best practices; and to develop more effective cooperation models between States.
October 2013
News from the Gambia
News from Papua New Guinea
Theo van der Linden, of the Royal Netherlands Sea Rescue Institution (KNRM), writes:
The Australian Government’s overseas aid programme, AusAID, has funded a second sea ambulance, the Hinau Natuna, to help improve health services in remote areas in Papua New Guinea. The first vessel, Medics Queen, arrived in May 2012 and now operates along the South Fly coast.
The Gambia Fire and Rescue Services received two rescue boats from the KNRM in 2011. (See LIFE LINE, April 2011.) The boats are now located at Barra Sea Rescue Unit and at Bakau Sea Rescue Station respectively. They are used for rescue purposes and also events like Regatta standby. The Regatta is a special programme for local fishing boats, which engage in boat racing, boat decoration and swimming contests between the various fishing centres. The rescue boats are put on standby during the event because more than 1000 people take part.
A first-time mother was facing a prolonged labour and the baby was in the breech position. Without medical attention it was likely neither of them would survive.
While this project has obvious benefits for the Baltic, its results will be of great help globally too. International and regional cooperation are key to addressing the resource issue in complex incidents. A fine example of this cooperative response is a Memorandum of Understanding signed by Estonia, Finland and Sweden. The aim here is to link the three countries’ mass rescue operations (MRO) planning, working together as States and with partners in the maritime community.
The Barra boat has also taken part in a simulation exercise with the ferry services; and the boat at Bakau has stood by skydiving events. The boats have rescued swimmers and the crews of capsized boats, and have transported medical cases from North Bank to Banjul Ferry terminal.
The On Scene Coordinator (OSC) and Aircraft Coordinator (ACO) roles can be vital in MRO planning and response. The Finnish Border Guard have arranged two pilot courses, one for prospective ACOs in the Baltic region, the other for ship masters and other likely OSCs. The ACO course is based on material developed by the Danish, Finnish & Swedish SAR authorities; the OSC one on material from the World Maritime University and the North Atlantic Coast Guard Forum.
Support is still needed. As these rescue boats are heavy, we need a tractor for launching. So far we have mobilised local people to assist us, but during the night we have to use the small rescue boat, which is risky.
For details of these courses, see ‘Dates for the Diary’, page 2.
If anyone can assist, please contact Ann Laing, at a.laing@imrf.org.uk
www.international-maritime-rescue.org
Hinau Natuna (‘My Mother’s Child’) carried out its first lifesaving mission just hours after the launch ceremony on 20 July, when an emergency call was received from the remote village of Losuia in the Trobriand Islands.
Training in rescue boat operations and maintenance procedures, communications and SAR procedures is also required, as is training and safety equipment, including lifejackets.
Every year an estimated 1,500 Papua New Guinean women die in childbirth. Local health centre staff were doing the best they could for the mother, but faced limited options. The next flight to Alotau General Hospital was not leaving for another three days and small ferries take up to 32 hours to reach the hospital. Hinau Natuna took 15 hours to reach the mother, in rough seas and strong winds, but the medical specialists aboard provided treatment during the return journey to Alotau, where a baby boy was delivered safely. “This emergency typifies the health needs of the province,” said Billy Naidi, of Milne Bay Provincial Health Authority. “The sea ambulance will help save lives throughout the islands.”
Trobiand Is
Alotau
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October 2013
Honours for IMRF Stalwarts On 1 September Ian Wienburg – well-known and highly respected throughout the SAR world – stepped down as CEO of South Africa’s National Sea Rescue Institute. Some retirements feel like the end of an era; but we hope we have not seen the last of this man yet! Ian was an active NSRI crew member for 20 years, becoming a coxswain and taking part in many rescues, before being persuaded to take over as CEO in November 1994. And the rest, in the words of the Meritorious Service Award presented to him on his retirement, is history. “When Ian took over the reins, the NSRI comprised 14 stations, manned by some 300 crew. The organisational ethos was to just get on with the job of sea rescue without fanfare, with the result that the NSRI was little-known outside immediate marine circles and hence sponsorships were very difficult to come by. “Ian changed all that. Besides his uncanny ability to persuade people to open their wallets, he took immediate steps to raise the profile of the Institute. “Through his immensely hard work funds began to flow in and Ian was enabled to revitalise the NSRI organisation. New boats were built, better equipment provided, and the level of training was raised immeasurably. There are now 32 NSRI stations, staffed by 940 volunteers, operating 90 rescue craft, on call 24 hours a day; all backed by a secure financial foundation. Ian has not forgotten children who cannot swim either. The WaterWise programme he launched in 2006 now teaches some 100,000 children a year how to avoid getting into trouble in or near water.”
Ian Wienburg (right) receives his Meritorious Service Award from Peter Bacon, Chairman of the NSRI Board of Directors
IMRF Chairman Michael Vlasto has also been honoured, this time by the City of Shanghai. The Magnolia Award is a municipal honour given to expatriates for their outstanding contribution to the city's economic, social or cultural development – and the white magnolia, whose petals always look skyward, is the city's flower, symbolizing a pioneering and enterprising spirit. Which sums up our Chairman pretty well, too… Shanghai began presenting the Magnolia Awards in 1989 in recognition of expats' hard work and achievements. Michael’s award is in recognition of the IMRF’s establishment of our Asia-Pacific Regional Centre (APRC) in the city, under his leadership.
And the IMRF has a huge thank you to say to Ian, too. He was a member of the steering committee set up in 2003 which led to the International Lifeboat Federation transforming into the IMRF, and his continued support is a source of strength and wise counsel to us all.
“It’s a great honour,” he says, “We held our very successful 2011 World Maritime Rescue Congress in Shanghai, and I look forward to continuing success for the APRC, based in this great port city.”
And finally... We hope that you have found this issue of LIFE LINE informative and interesting. We know that there is much more going on among IMRF’s membership that could be reported here, to the benefit of all – but we rely on you, the reader, to tell us about it! LIFE LINE and the IMRF website need you to provide their contents – your news, your projects, your events, your ideas, your lessons learned. We also need your pictures, please: good quality pictures (more than 250 kB, if possible) of your SAR units – boats, ships, aircraft, RCCs etc. These will be used in LIFE LINE and on the website – but are also needed for presentations and to accompany press articles about the IMRF and its worldwide work. Please send articles and pictures (or links to them, with formal permission for them to be used for IMRF purposes) to news@imrf.org.uk Let’s spread the word, for the benefit of all at risk on the world’s waters.
LIFE LINE www.international-maritime-rescue.org
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