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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
Registered office: IMRF West Quay Road Poole BH15 1HZ United Kingdom Company Registration Number: 4852596 Charity Registration Number: 1100883
www.international-maritime-rescue.org
LLIIFFEE LLIINNEE
The Newsletter of the International Maritime Rescue Federation (IMRF)
News Experience Ideas Information Development
In this issue:
Hamish McDonald on the global challenges of water safety & SAR development
mass rescue operations and the next in the IMRFs international conference series
news from China, Estonia, Germany and North, West & South Africa
and more!
DDeecceemmbbeerr
22001133
December 2010 December 2010 December 2010 December 2010 December 2010 December 2010 December 2010 December 2010 December 2010 December 2010 December 2010 December 2010 December 2010 December 2010 December 2010 December 2010 December 2010 December 2010
Looking back on 2013 and forward to the new year
As 2013 draws to a close, Chief Executive Bruce Reid reflects on the IMRFs achievements during the year, and
looks forward to some of the things planned for 2014.
The IMRF is coming to the end of an incredibly busy year. We have held very successful regional
meetings in North West Africa (in Morocco and the Canary Islands), Malta, Bangladesh, Hong
Kong, China, and Estonia. IMRF Trustees and officers have participated in other major events; in
Fiji, Sri Lanka, the UK, the Bahamas, Germany, and Uruguay. Our major projects have forged
ahead: global SAR development, rescue boat guidelines, mass rescue operations, water safety
education and awareness, and, in our European region, the crew exchange project. We have
played a full part at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) too, representing the worlds SAR
organisations on the world stage, and contributing to the development of SAR guidance and regulation.
We have reviewed and revised our communications strategy, updating the IMRF website (www.international-maritime-
rescue.org), increasing our news media output with regular press releases, and of course regularly publishing your
newsletter, LIFE LINE. We have agreed a Memorandum of Understanding with the International Life Saving Federation
(ILS). Our Asia Pacific Regional Centre is making great progress. And the IMRF team is there to deal with any individual
matters our Members want to raise: remember Ann Laings watch-words Just Ask! The Stonehaven telephone number
is +44 (0)1569 767405; in Shanghai its +86 21 55095301; and the first point of email contact is [email protected].
Anyway: thats a flavour of 2013. But what about next year? Theres a huge amount to do. Currently, we are planning
regional meetings for Africa, Europe, South America and the Asia-Pacific region. The Trustees will be visiting Australasia
and Thailand. Therell be the third in our series of International Maritime Mass Rescue Conferences in Sweden. We also
plan to hold up to four mass rescue operations workshops around the world, and will be launching the IMRF Rescue Boat
Guidelines too, which will also include a series of workshops. Our Asia Pacific Centre plans to hold further On Scene
Coordinator training [see page 3], and further training and support will be provided in the North and West Africa Region too,
working with the IMO and the African States in the region and their European neighbours.
As you can see, the IMRF is driving forward, making a noise and making a real difference in global maritime SAR. The
IMRF is our Members, without whose determination and support none of these things could be achieved. Thank you for
all you have done in 2013. Want to be more involved next year...? Just Ask!
LLIIFFEE LLIINNEE DDeecceemmbbeerr 22001133
www.international-maritime-rescue.org page 2
Editorial
Welcome to the latest edition of your newsletter.
Another full and varied issue for you.
As our CEO Bruce Reid says on page 1, the year
now drawing to a close has been a busy one for the
IMRF, and a great deal has been achieved. But
theres always more to be done, and we dont expect
2014 to be any quieter: its Full Ahead at the IMRF!
However, as Bruce remarks, the IMRF is its
Members. Without you and your efforts, SAR does
not get done and global SAR will not improve. So
thank you. And keep up the good work.
Keep yourself and others in touch, too. If you receive
LIFE LINE from us direct, can you pass it on to
colleagues? Or if the newsletter has been forwarded
to you, please ask us to add you to our distribution
list. If you arent an IMRF Member or Supporter, and
would like to know more, have a look at our recently
refreshed website, at www.international-maritime-
rescue.org
and/or contact my colleague Ann Laing, at
[email protected] or on +44 (0)1569 767405.
The New Year beckons. As it progresses we will be
preparing for the next IMRF Quadrennial General
Meeting, which will be held in conjunction with our
2015 World Maritime Rescue Congress, in
Bremerhaven, Germany. Our Members will be kept
fully informed of developments, of course but watch
LIFE LINE too for news of what will be going on.
Among many other things, the Members attending
the QGM will be deciding on the major projects the
IMRF will undertake in the next four years, to
complement our work in the current quadrennium on
rescue boats, mass rescue operations, water safety
education and global SAR development.
Exciting stuff! Be a part of it.
From all of us at the IMRF, Board
and Secretariat, a happy and
successful New Year to you all.
Dave Jardine-Smith
Contents
Looking back and forward .................. 1
Editorial ................................. 2
Dates for the Diary ................................. 2
IMRF & ILS sign agreement ................... 3
On scene coordination ................... 3
G3: our next MRO conference ................... 3
The IMRF in N&W Africa ................... 4
The IMRF in Europe ................................. 5
Estonian Maritime Rescue Organisation ... 6
SAR Matters ................................. 7
Mass rescue operations ................... 9
The IMRFs MRO project ................... 9
WaterWise in South Africa ................... 10
Supporting North & West Africa ... 10
IMO Bravery Awards ................................. 11
Safe affordable ferries ................... 12
The FIRST Project ................................. 12
Send us your news & pictures ... 12
Dates for the Diary
Gothenburg 3: the next in the IMRFs mass rescue
operations conference series 1-3 June 2014
Hosted by the Swedish Sea Rescue Society. See page 3.
Drowning Prevention Week 21-29 June 2014
Organised by the Royal Life Saving Society UK. See
www.drowningpreventionweek.org.uk.
Rescue 2014 17-19 October 2014
Hosted by ICE-SAR in Reykjavik, Iceland. See
www.icesar.com/rescue.
World Maritime Rescue Congress 1-4 June 2015
Advance notice of the IMRFs next Congress and quadrennial
general meeting. Details in due course.
If you are planning a SAR event of international interest
which you would like to see listed here, please send the
details to: [email protected]
LLIIFFEE LLIINNEE DDeecceemmbbeerr 22001133
www.international-maritime-rescue.org page 3
On Scene Coordinator Courses
The IMRFs Asia Pacific Regional
Centre (APRC) and the Nanhai
Rescue Bureau of the Chinese
Ministry of Transport combined to
hold an On Scene Coordinator (OSC)
training course in Shenzhen in
September. More than 30 people
attended from the China Maritime
Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC)
and China Rescue and Salvage.
Speakers and trainees at the Shenzhen
training course
In his opening remarks, Mr Lin Zhihao
of the Nanhai Rescue Bureau
emphasized the importance of
cooperation between China Rescue
and Salvage and the MRCC,
especially as regards information
exchange and the sharing of rescue
resources.
IMRF Trustee Captain Udo Helge
Fox, of the German Maritime SAR
Service, who led the training session,
noted the importance of the IMRFs
regional development strategy. He
considered the training course a
significant milestone: for the first time
the IMRF, through its APRC, was
providing practical training on the
important, and potentially very difficult,
OSC function in SAR operations.
This is an initiative that the IMRF
would like to build on in other parts of
the world.
The Shenzhen course focussed on
maritime emergency management
and research on maritime SAR skills,
and reviewed the whole process of
maritime emergency response,
including analysis of typical cases.
The attendees were able to obtain the
necessary theoretical knowledge and
OSC skills, involving on-scene
command, control, coordination and
communication issues.
IMRF and ILS sign new agreement
The IMRF has signed a Memorandum
of Understanding (MoU) with our
sister organisation, the International
Lifesaving Federation (ILS). The ILS
is the world authority for drowning
prevention, lifesaving and lifesaving
sport. ILS leads, supports and collab-
orates with national and international
organisations engaged in drowning
prevention, water safety, water
rescue, lifesaving, lifeguarding and
lifesaving sport.
The new MoU recognises that
drowning is a major public health
issue that is claiming and affecting
millions of lives every year. ILS and
IMRF share a common goal of
reducing drowning on all continents
and in all waters. With this in mind
both organisations want to collaborate
more closely to ensure that all
available resources are applied in a
productive and resourceful manner to
drowning prevention.
Mutual respect and recognition of
each others contribution and unique
global status underpin our working
relationship. We will work to support
common activities at the national and
international level and to align our
public messages while preserving our
respective organisational identities.
Working together makes us stronger,
and should help save lives.
Partners: ILS President Graham Ford and
IMRF Chairman Michael Vlasto
G3 our next MRO conference
The IMRF is delighted to announce
our latest International Maritime
Mass Rescue Conference, to be held
on 1-3 June 2014 in Sweden. This is
the third in our Gothenburg series of
conferences, kindly hosted by IMRF
Members the Swedish Sea Rescue
Society. It forms part of the IMRF
mass rescue operations project.
Major incidents of any kind severely
test response capabilities; even more
so when rescue or relief efforts
involve operations on the water. The
2010 and 2012 conferences in the
Gothenburg series, and the 2011
World Maritime Rescue Congress in
Shanghai, helped to highlight and
address many of these challenges.
The 2014 conference will focus on
developing and sharing practical
solutions to the previously identified
problems, under the following main
headings:
Integrating the preparation and
planning efforts of all stakeholders,
including industry
Enhancing incident coordination
and establishing supportive response
systems
Improving cohesion between all
stakeholders to optimise response
capability
More information in the next edition
of LIFE LINE, from [email protected]
or at www.international-maritime-
rescue.org... and see page 9 as well.
LLIIFFEE LLIINNEE DDeecceemmbbeerr 22001133
www.international-maritime-rescue.org page 4
The IMRF in North West Africa
Fishermen with poor communications and safety
equipment are one of the main reasons for SAR call-outs
off the coasts of North and West Africa.
This was one of the issues raised at the IMRFs North
West African Regional Meeting held in Gran Canaria in
October. As well as representatives from the region
several European SAR organisations also attended.
The meeting was told that along the coast of Senegal
alone there are some 13,000 artisanal fishermen, who
often are not equipped to alert the authorities if they get
into trouble. This problem is repeated along much of the
African coast.
There have also been changes in fishing techniques in
recent years which, when they are employed using
traditional fishing craft, can cause them to capsize. It was
agreed that the dangers identified were not just a SAR
issue but also required a community approach to
encourage a safety culture. (See SAR Matters, page 7.)
Another challenge faced by some of the States
represented at the meeting is the increasing number and
size of cruise ships operating in their areas. The increased
possibility of a mass rescue operation being required
highlights the need for SAR organisations to develop
plans to manage this risk. The IMRFs mass rescue
operations project will assist this planning process. (See
page 9.)
The ability to access funds for non-capital SAR
requirements such as training is also a continuing
challenge in the region. Examples were given of
equipment being provided but with no provision to train
those expected to use it.
IMRF Chief Executive Bruce Reid says: "The development
of the North and West Africa Regional SAR Plan has
improved communication and collaboration and the overall
SAR response and capability of the region but there is
still work to be done.
"Regular meetings, combined with training, are bringing
the groups closer together and possible expansion to
include other African States and observers from European
SAR agencies would enhance this activity."
In the Canary Islands themselves, SAR organisations
identify pleasure craft, and particularly the increasing
number of small water craft such as kayaks, windsurfers
and jet-skis, as a problem, due in part to a lack of
knowledge and understanding on the part of users, and
reliance on technology over seamanship in some cases.
Maritime adventurers engaged in single-handed voyages
remain a small but frustrating problem group. The
emerging challenge presented by the developing offshore
oil & gas industry in this region was also highlighted.
The matter of 'migrants' was discussed. Despite the recent
disasters off Lampedusa and elsewhere in the
Mediterranean, this risk group was no longer a major
problem for the North and West Africa region, with
significant work having been undertaken to address the
matter. Numbers of migrants have dropped from 30,000
intercepted in 2006 to 340 in 2011. But while the migrant
issue is not a major challenge at present it is recognised
as still being a potential risk for the future.
The problems outlined above, the meeting heard, were
being addressed through the introduction and
enforcement of new regulations to lift overall safety
standards. Improved reporting had also allowed the types
of incidents occurring to be analysed and targeted, with
interventions primarily through inter-agency cooperation,
local community short courses and training, and by
utilising local radio to broadcast safety messages.
Public education and awareness strategies are also being
used with some success to target the pleasure boat group
in Gran Canaria. Public campaigns are run at targeted
times to raise awareness and improve safety behaviours.
This is an ongoing challenge as the main groups being
targeted are transient: mainly holiday-makers or short-
term residents.
The IMRF remains fully committed to working with and
supporting its partners in this rapidly developing SAR
region.
As usual, the IMRFs Trustees held one of their bi-annual
board meetings alongside the Regional Meeting, to make
best use of resource and to enable them to meet regional
Members and partners and discuss their concerns.
At the board meeting the Trustees heard updates on
IMRF work from around the world, and discussed the
IMRFs continuingly expanding workload and the resource
needs this expansion implies.
LLIIFFEE LLIINNEE DDeecceemmbbeerr 22001133
www.international-maritime-rescue.org page 5
Ene Kalmus addresses the Estonian
Maritime Rescue Conference
The Chairman and CEO of the IMRF,
together with other Trustees and
officers, were honoured to attend a
Maritime Rescue Conference held in
Tallinn, Estonia, in October. Ene
Kalmus of IMRF Members the
Estonian Maritime Rescue Organisation
the EVMJP (see page 6) was a
prime mover behind the event.
Mr Ken-Marti Vaher, the Estonian
Minister of the Interior, emphasised
the importance of collaboration and
cooperation. He noted that, while the
State cannot create volunteers like
the EVMJP, it can, and will, facilitate
their role in maritime SAR. The other
keynote speakers, Mati Raidma of the
Estonian Parliament, and Rando
Kruusmaa of the Police and Border
Guard (who lead on SAR in Estonia),
also noted the need to work together
to achieve substantial benefits. The
key word, said Deputy Director
Kruusmaa, is cooperation.
A crowded hall heard presentations
on maritime rescue and the State
structures in the Estonian SAR
system, and on their voluntary
partners and potential partners.
IMRF projects were explained,
including the European crew
exchange project (see LIFE LINE,
October 2013), and other international
examples were discussed by IMRF
Members represented at the
conference: the Russian Voluntary
Maritime Rescue Society, the Finnish
Lifeboat Institution, the Swedish Sea
Rescue Society and ADES, the Sea
and River Rescue Association of
Uruguay.
We know that, to improve SAR, it is
vital that all those involved should
talk, and understand each others
roles and capabilities. Examples from
elsewhere are also of great help. This
conference proved both points well.
The IMRF in Europe
The latest IMRF European Regional
Development Group Meeting was
held in Viimsi, Estonia, the day after
the Maritime Rescue Conference in
Tallinn. It was chaired by Remmi
Edelbo Pedersen, and was attended
by representatives of some fifteen
European IMRF Member organ-
isations, as well as the Chairman and
other officers of the Federation.
European Regional Development Group
members visiting Viimsi rescue boat
station (and sheltering from the hail
blowing off the Baltic!) and, below, the
meeting in full swing
Remmi ran an open space meeting
for the most part, inviting attendees to
identify subjects they wished to
discuss and then to join small
working groups to talk through the
various topics identified.
The subjects raised included:
cooperation, both between SAR
organisations and with other maritime
emergency responders such as
salvors
sustainable development of
SAR organisations, including recruit-
ment and retention strategies
funding and fundraising,
especially for running costs; and
training: it was agreed that a
working group would be established
to study this area in particular. Watch
LIFE LINE for its reports!
Klaus Wilkens, of the German Life Saving
Society (DLRG) and conference
chairman, sums up the findings
The 2013 World Conference on
Drowning Prevention was also held
in October, in Potsdam, Germany.
Over 500 delegates attended this
major event, which was organised by
our partners the International Life
Saving Federation (ILS see page 3)
and hosted by the German Life
Saving Society.
The agenda covered all aspects of
this global health issue, which is
bigger than many accept, and almost
entirely preventable, in the words of
ILS President, Graham Ford.
The conference tackled multiple work
streams, including
prevention & pool safety
swimming education
life-saving education
sport
youth
scuba & rescue diving
risk assessment
water rescue services
rescue boat driving
disaster prevention & rescue
medical aspects
research
lifesaving management
world collaboration; and
sea rescue.
The last thread included presentations
by Michael Vlasto, IMRF Chairman,
on the IMRF and our rescue boat
guidelines project, and by David
Jardine-Smith of the Secretariat on
our mass rescue operations project.
It is clear from the list above that
there are many areas of common
ground and interest between the ILS
and the IMRF. We look forward to
working on them in partnership.
The next World Conference on
Drowning Prevention will be held in
Penang, Malaysia, in October 2015.
LLIIFFEE LLIINNEE DDeecceemmbbeerr 22001133
www.international-maritime-rescue.org page 6
Member Focus: Estonian
Maritime Rescue Organisation
The IMRFs European Regional Meeting took place in Estonia in
October (see page 5), kindly hosted by the Estonian Maritime
Rescue Organisation. Ene Kalmus, Chairperson of the
Organisations Management Board, writes:
Dwellers on Estonian shores have always included
seafarers and fishermen and every seaman knows how
important a helping hand is at a critical moment. Our
Organisation has its roots in this tradition.
There had been rescue stations during the Russian period:
when the Republic of Estonia was created, they were
handed over to the State and reported to various agencies
until 1927, when they were attached to the Red Cross. By
1938, Estonia had 28 rescue stations registered, some
operating in winter where there was active traffic over ice.
The key equipment was the so-
called unsinkable lifeboat
specially built for rescue
operations: a double-boarded
hull with a metal keel and air
spaces at either end filled with
crates of cork, grab ropes around
the boat, and sacks of oil to calm
waves. But the skills of the crew, their selflessness and
willingness, were considered paramount.
During the Soviet period, the concept and content of
rescue stations changed the sea was no longer free and
rescue at sea was replaced by rescue along the shore, with
lifeguard services serving as the central organisation. During the second period of Estonia's independence,
however, and with economic growth, the numbers of boat
owners increased: fishing remained the main activity for
many people. With the development of small-craft harbours
the numbers of international visitors have grown as well.
Increasing cooperation between Estonia and Finland from
2004 included a review of Estonias maritime safety
provisions. The idea of a volunteer maritime rescue
organisation met with general support, and cooperation
projects were carried out with EU funding to determine the
objectives of a volunteer sea and lake rescue system, the
principles for its functioning, its results, and cooperation
with the national border guard and rescue agencies.
April 2010 saw the registration of the non-governmental
organisation Eesti Vabatahtlik Mere - ja Jrvepste
(EVMJP the Estonian Maritime Rescue Organization). Its
founding members were six volunteer sea and lake rescue
societies and a continuing education centre.
Under its statutes, the organisations main objectives are:
Increase significantly security at sea and on inland
waters by involving volunteer societies in the rescue
operations of rescue and border guard units;
Support citizen initiative and willingness to volunteer to
assist rescue agencies and, thereby, reduce the fixed
costs of national rescue readiness;
Form a cooperation network of various sea and lake
rescue societies to cover the entire shorelines of the
sea and major lakes;
Coordinate the core activities and training at local
volunteer societies by creating functioning cooperation
and training systems;
Working with national agencies, set up legal bases,
social guarantees and a system for financing the costs
of sea and lake rescue volunteers and their societies;
Integrate into the international volunteer maritime
rescue system by raising Estonia's rescue capability
and making use of partners' years of experience.
The EVMJP now unites 15 volunteer maritime and lake
rescue societies whose members total over 220 people.
The societies vary greatly in terms of their equipment
everything from RIBs owned by the societies themselves
to privately owned wooden boats. Several societies rent
their vessels from private companies. Primary rescue
equipment has been purchased but more is needed. To
date, the Level I training required under the law has been
completed by 117 people, with 38 volunteers having
attained Level II or team leader training.
The number of search, rescue and aid events in which
volunteers participate is increasing, and, given the upward
trend of boat owners and water sport enthusiasts, this is
set to rise even further. Volunteers also organise water
safety days, study camps and information events
dedicated to students, which are very popular, and
volunteers take care of safety during various water sport
events: canoe trips, sailing regattas, races and the like.
The EVMJP has enjoyed a close partnership with the
Finnish Lifeboat Institution since 2006; and we joined the
IMRF in 2010. This enables us to benefit from, and
contribute to, membership in the international family of
maritime rescuers: close cooperation links sprang up with
volunteer maritime rescue organisations in Sweden,
Denmark, Iceland, Norway, the UK and elsewhere.
The EVMJP is now in a decisive phase in its evolution:
our development plan calls for support from the State to
enable transition to an independent and permanently
financed system. We want to be a real partner for the
State in developing Estonian maritime SAR.
LLIIFFEE LLIINNEE DDeecceemmbbeerr 22001133
www.international-maritime-rescue.org page 7
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 [email protected].
Or you can join the discussion on our SAR Matters Blog,
online at www.international-maritime-rescue.org.
Have a look at previous discussions on the website too, in
the LIFE LINE archive.
In this edition IMRF Trustee
Hamish McDonald discusses the
global challenges of water safety
and SAR development.
IMRFs stated mission is "preventing
loss of life in the worlds waters a
bold and noble aim. However, to facilitate its achievement
many very varied challenges must be recognised and
addressed. A major initial difficulty for any international
organisation that has evolved predominantly from
developed member entities is to be able to perceive the
challenges for both the developed entity and the indigenous
artisan. An holistic perception must encompass not only the
practicalities of operational capability development but be
inclusive of, and sensitive to, cultural, geo-commercial, geo-
political and societal dictates.
Accurate figures for the annual loss of life on the worlds
waters are extremely difficult to define: an often-quoted
estimate is 400,000. What is certain is that a very
significant percentage of these deaths relate to indigenous
artisan peoples, either within fisheries (marine or inland) or
migrant. The consequential reality of these figures is that
there is maximum pressure on disaster management,
emergency response and SAR resources in the regions
and communities with the least developed resource and
capability.
Over the past few years there has been a very high loss of
life at sea related to human trafficking and the transhipping
of migrants. Most reaction to this situation is to demand
greater border security and greater SAR capability; a
response that is in some ways understandable and may
provide some short term gains. Longer term, however,
greater strains are placed on limited resources, and the
problem is moved elsewhere.
To develop a perception taking account of both the
developed and the indigenous viewpoints, it is necessary
to undertake a review of the causal and influencing factors
on individual perceptions of safety, security and wellbeing,
focusing on individuals ability either to sustain or develop
such perceptions or, alternatively, to become susceptible to
criminal, extremist, migrant, narcotic or terrorism (CEMNT)
activities. Analysis clearly identifies that those who have
lost most, for reasons beyond their direct control, are those
most easily redirected to CEMNT activity. This is easily
exemplified in the root causes of piracy in Somalia, insurgency
in Mali, the movement of peoples from the Sahel, and the
breakdown of law and order in Guinea Bissau.
When considering the high loss of life on the waters of the
North and West African States, it is imperative that all the
influencing factors are taken into account particularly
when it is realised that all the different forms of CEMNT
movements, both in and out of the North Africa / Sahel
region, have to transit a maritime boundary at some
stage. Adding greatly to this problem is the fact that the
States that make up the coastal boundaries of this region
have artisanal fishing industries and communities that are
suffering serious safety and viability problems of their
own.
Three key challenges impact artisanal fisheries:
1. Management, operation and processing the product of
artisanal fishery in a sustainable and viable manner
Inadequate fisheries management and policing
measures have led to overfishing, illegal fishing,
increased competition and reduced profitability for
artisanal fishers.
States selling their fishing rights to external entities.
The huge catching capacity of overseas vessels
exploiting these stocks earns them billions of euros;
but the artisanal fishermens catch is greatly reduced.
According to the UNs Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) the probability is that all West
African fishing grounds are fully or over-exploited.
A direct result of this is that over 1.5 million artisanal
fishermen cannot sustain their growing populations.
2. Cultivation and adoption of a maritime safety culture
that is fit for purpose, viable and sustainable
The present general lack of a maritime safety
awareness culture within many artisanal fishery
communities is well documented.
The FAO estimates that, worldwide, roughly 30 million
fishers work aboard 4 million fishing vessels. About
98% of these vessels are below 24 metres in length,
and approximately 2.7 million are small un-decked
craft. The number of fishing fatalities is very
conservatively estimated at 24,000 per year.
(continued on page 8)
LLIIFFEE LLIINNEE DDeecceemmbbeerr 22001133
www.international-maritime-rescue.org page 8
It should therefore be in ALL our interests to facilitate the
enhancement of the individuals safety, security and
wellbeing, in turn facilitating a positive knock-on effect to
the society and country as a whole.
A significant number of support programmes aim to
address these challenges. Although excellent in their own
right, the majority of such programmes cover relatively
narrow aspects of what is a very complex overall problem.
Unfortunately the current standard healing mechanisms
invariably consist of a combination of reactive external
policing and interdiction linked to the provision of internal
development packages. But it is often the case that these
development packages are not truly inclusive of the grass-
roots community, are not locally sustainable, and
therefore frequently make the local situation worse rather
than better.
Analysis of information
gained from indigenous
perceptions of many
previous support prog-
rammes suggests that there
is a need to be more all-
inclusive in addressing the
varied aspects and inter-
relationships of the safety,
security and wellbeing of
artisanal fishery commun-
ities and their associated
sectors. The same analysis
highlights the need to
learn from some of the
mistakes of past endeavours,
where best intentions have
been compromised by:
poor definition and lack of understanding of
operational requirements;
lack of understanding of the available support
infrastructure; and
misinterpretation of information received or given.
In the next edition of LIFE LINE, Hamish will propose a
methodology and programme aimed at addressing the
challenges detailed above by facilitating all-inclusive
beneficial change to the safety, security and wellbeing of
artisanal fishery communities and associated sectors.
(continued from page 7)
The consequences fall heavily on dependents. In some
countries, these can be devastating: widows may have
a low social standing, there is no welfare state to
support the family and, with a lack of alternative
sources of income, the dependents may face total
poverty. In Africa, on average, for every dead fisher
there are seven family dependants and a further ten
persons will also suffer loss of income.
3. Management and operation of fit-for-purpose, viable
and sustainable policing, emergency response and rescue
resources
In many of the maritime regions associated with
artisanal fishery, human trafficking and migrant
problems, the maritime policing and emergency
response capacity levels vary dramatically.
Unfortunately they are at best minimal in some of the
worst affected areas, and they have to deal with many
varied situations.
The three key challenges outlined are interlinked,
inter-reactive and inter-causal.
Bad management, operation and processing of the
product of artisanal fishery leads to an unsustainable
and non-viable industry.
Participants attempting to cope with the situation often
adopt cost-cutting and risk-taking measures, resulting
in a culture of diminished maritime safety awareness.
This in turn puts additional demands on the
emergency response resource; and shortfalls in
that resource have a negative effect on the safety,
security and wellbeing of the artisanal fishers.
The presence of any one or more of these three key
challenges can create a self-perpetuating negative
rotation of outcomes.
Participants in the artisanal fishery develop the
perception of having no future and no prospects. They
have no profitable work, so no pay and thus no support
mechanisms. Perceiving poverty or destitution, they
need to move, or get pay by other means.
In times of desperation and need, people are most
vulnerable to targeting by the criminal, extremist,
migrant, pirate, trafficking and/or terrorist controllers
and paymasters.
Consequently, a very high proportion of persons involved
in artisanal fisheries have either become migrants, or have
chosen, or been forced, to be under the direction of
CEMNT controllers. These factors are recognised locally,
nationally and internationally. Additionally it is known that
there is a strong interactive link between an individuals, a
familys, and a communitys perception of their own safety,
security and wellbeing, and that of the actual safety,
security and wellbeing of their society as a whole. It is also
the case that a negative perception within a country has
the potential to have detrimental impacts on international
safety, security and wellbeing.
LLIIFFEE LLIINNEE DDeecceemmbbeerr 22001133
www.international-maritime-rescue.org page 9
Mass Rescue Operations
On 3 October a heavily overcrowded fishing vessel caught
fire, capsized and sank off Lampedusa. She was carrying
people trying to cross to Europe from North Africa. 366 of
them, mostly Eritreans and Somalis, died. There were 155
survivors. It was the worst but by no means the only such
tragedy in the Mediterranean in recent times. For once,
the global news media paid attention.
Back in August the ferry St Thomas Aquinas was in
collision with a cargo ship, Sulpicio Express Siete, off
Cebu in the Philippines. The ferry sank quickly. Of the 870
people believed to have been on board, at least 80 were
killed and another 40 were missing, probably trapped in
the wreck. 750 people, however, were saved.
In November Typhoon Haiyan caused devastating
damage in the Philippines and other countries in the
region, resulting in a mass rescue operation on a much
greater scale. Quite rightly the news media focussed on
this catastrophe, and an international rescue and recovery
operation continues. But the loss of St Thomas Aquinas
was less well reported. And she was not alone.
In Indonesia there were two ferry accidents within two
days of each other: the Express Bahari 8C caught fire on
22 August off Tanjung Pandan, with the reported loss of 7
lives. 184 people were rescued. Then, on 24 August,
Sandar Jaya capsized, also off Sumatra, killing at least
four. 21 people were rescued but, as is so often the case,
the number of people aboard the ferry was uncertain.
In September another boat carrying asylum-seekers sank,
this time off Java. Over 70 are feared dead, and only 25
reported rescued.
In October a large dugout, carrying scores of people and
a large amount of merchandise, broke up on the Niger
river near Koubi. 210 survivors were reported but, with
over 70 people confirmed dead, it was one of Malis worst
river disasters. "In the future, said a government minister,
These canoes will have to be equipped with life vests, fire
extinguishers and lights for night-time navigation..."
***
The awful stories continue to be told, sometimes catching
the worlds attention; but all too often not. If causes are
addressed at all, they are addressed too late for those
already lost, and sometimes it is doubtful that the action
promised will be fully carried out once the brief flare of
publicity dies away.
The IMRF cannot address all these issues in our Mass
Rescue Operations project (see this page) but we are
determined to highlight the continuing and usually
avoidable losses of life and to support initiatives such as
the Safe Affordable Ferry design competition (see page 12).
We also note, and highly commend, the rescue efforts of
our colleagues responding to these disasters around the
world. Until these preventable accidents are prevented,
the need to share such rescue experience remains.
(picture courtesy the Italian Coast Guard)
The IMRFs MRO project
Sharing is what the IMRF is all about; and its what our
mass rescue operations (MRO) project is all about too. At
present there are three main threads to the project.
The Gothenburg Conference Series is the first thread:
the third international conference in the series will be held
on 1-3 June 2014: see page 3.
Then theres the IMRF MRO Library. This will be a
comprehensive and user-friendly on-line library of maritime
mass rescue operations guidance material. Anyone
preparing for MROs will be able to study the whole
problem or easily find guidance on particular issues. A
working group of subject-matter experts drawn from IMRF
member and partner organisations is compiling the library.
We intend to have it up and running within the next year.
Finally, there are the IMRF MRO Workshops. These are
usually one-day events designed to bring all the main
responders together, nationally or regionally, to enable
them to discuss their roles and capabilities and, using a
tabletop exercise suited to their local circumstances, to
discuss the many issues arising from MROs.
The overall project aims are to raise awareness, enable
discussion and share expertise and experience. The three
main threads described above will work together to help us
all be better prepared.
And, while the reference
library is still being built,
the workshops are already
under way, and are a
great success. A one-day
workshop in Uruguay last
year, for example, has
already led to a follow-up
event organised by the national emergency authority, held
in November this year. This included a more detailed
tabletop exercise, and a visit to the cruise ship Zaandam.
Here we see the ships Master discussing emergency
response issues with the workshop participants.
The IMRF will help organise a maritime MRO workshop
anywhere in the world for the need to prepare is a global
one. Interested? Good: thats the first step to being
prepared! Contact the IMRF project manager, David
Jardine-Smith, for details: [email protected].
LLIIFFEE LLIINNEE DDeecceemmbbeerr 22001133
www.international-maritime-rescue.org page 10
WaterWise in South Africa
Andrew Ingram of South Africas National Sea Rescue Institute writes:
The WaterWise Academy is the
proactive educational initiative of
South Africas voluntary National
Sea Rescue Institute. The
programmes nine full-time
Instructors have taught some
435,388 children about water safety
since its inception in 2006.
Even competent swimmers can
drown so, instead of teaching kids to
swim, we teach them how to rescue
their peers. We target 9- to 14-year-
old kids, since they are most at risk
of death by drowning. We teach
them what to do in an emergency,
who to call for help and how to
initiate basic bystander CPR (cardio-
pulmonary resuscitation) while they
wait for an ambulance to arrive.
WaterWise Instructors based around
South Africa visit the classrooms of
disadvantaged schools and teach the
children, through interactive
activities, what is safe and what is
not when playing near or in water.
The children are given a basic
understanding of what to do should
they find themselves in an
emergency. Very importantly, this
includes how to identify and avoid rip
currents, as well as what to do if they
or their friends are caught in one.
Using the acronym PLAN (where P
stands for Plan, L for Look, A for Ask
and N for Never) we give them the
dos and donts of basic water safety.
For the older children the First Aid
HHH (Hazards, Hello and Help) is
used to teach about their own safety
coming first; and finally the children
have great fun learning the national
emergency number.
Transnet National Ports Authority
sponsors six Instructors and our
Waterwise Eden Instructor is proudly
sponsored by the Department of
Agriculture. Sea Rescue funds the
remaining two with public donations
that are made specifically to the
WaterWise Academy project.
You can help spread good ideas on water safety education and awareness!
Please send a summary of your education programmes to Ann Laing, the
IMRFs education project manager, at [email protected].
Supporting North & West Africa
IMRF Trustee and Executive
Director of the DGzRS
(German Maritime SAR
Service) Udo Helge Fox writes:
Good news from Germany!
The German Ministry of
Transport is prepared to
fund IMO projects involving
DGzRS with the sum of
52,000 (in addition to the
5,000 already agreed).
This means that two training courses
can be carried out in the
North & West Africa Region
in early 2014, and that a
fact-finding mission can be
undertaken in Senegal.
These initiatives are in
addition to the support the
International Maritime Org-
anization has recently
provided, through the IMRF,
to enable two students to
have a weeks training each
at the German Maritime
Rescue Coordination Centre
run by the DGzRS in
Bremen.
IMRF Chairman Michael Vlasto
adds:
This is great news indeed. It
will enable the excellent
work already started by the
IMRFs Regional Coordina-
tor, and the SAR Coordinator
in Morocco, Mohammed Drissi, to
move forward even further.
The work being organised in
this region by Mohammed,
with support from the IMRF
and the IMO, and the very
generous help provided by
the German government, is
a classic example of the
IMRFs purpose the
sharing of expertise and
resources for the betterment
of maritime SAR all around
the world.
For more on the North & West African
initiative, see our August 2013 edition at
www.international-maritime-
rescue.org.
Zanele Bushwane teaches CPR
(above); and children learn the
emergency number, 10177 (below)
Lwazi Fihlela teaches water safety
(above); and Liza Wigley teaches
CPR (below)
LLIIFFEE LLIINNEE DDeecceemmbbeerr 22001133
www.international-maritime-rescue.org page 11
Mrs Gu Meiying, widow of Yang Jinguo, and ASTs Haba and
Todd at the award ceremony in London
The IMO Awards for Exceptional Bravery at Sea
Each year, the International Maritime Organization (IMO)
makes awards for exceptional bravery at sea. The awards
are a unique, international recognition for those who, at
the risk of losing their own life, perform acts of exceptional
bravery, displaying outstanding courage at sea.
Anyone may be nominated, by an IMO Member State or a
non-governmental organisation with consultative status at
the IMO, such as the IMRF. Our expertise in this area also
means that we are represented on the judging panel that
considers the nominations made. The 2013 awards were
presented at the IMO on 25 November and IMRF CEO
Bruce Reid and our Chairman, Michael Vlasto, were in the
audience.
The 2013 IMO Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea was
awarded to two rescue swimmers from the United States
Coast Guard, and, posthumously, to Mr Yang Jinguo, a
seafarer from China who died trying to save the life of a
passenger aboard Tong Chang Qi Du 11 after the ferry
had collided with the cargo ship Shun Qiang 28. Seeing
that the passenger was trapped in his truck, Mr Yang leapt
back aboard the sinking ship to try to free him. Although
he could have escaped, he continued trying to prise open
the jammed cab door, at the cost of his own life.
Aviation Survival Technician Second Class Randy J. Haba
and Aviation Survival Technician Third Class Daniel J.
Todd of USCG Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina,
were nominated for saving the lives of 14 crew members
from the replica tall ship HMS Bounty, during Hurricane
Sandy. The two men were part of the crews of Coast
Guard Rescue Helicopters, CG-6012 and CG-6031,
despatched in response to a message from HMS Bounty
that she was taking water and preparing to abandon.
After flying through the outer bands of the hurricane, in
strong winds and torrential rain, they found the ship
partially submerged, with a large debris field and
surrounded by life rafts.
CG-6012 was the first to arrive, and AST Haba was
lowered into the stormy waters. He spent an hour battling
strong currents and 10-metre waves, in wind and rain,
taking survivors from the liferafts to the waiting rescue
basket. At one point, he was engulfed by a huge wave
that knocked his mask off, and performed two more
rescues without it. He exhibited exceptional strength and
endurance throughout the entire rescue.
Rescue Helicopter CG-6031 arrived 30 minutes after CG-
6012, and AST Todd was immediately deployed to
another liferaft. Whilst he was assisting the second
survivor in this raft into the rescue basket, a large wave
toppled the raft with four more survivors still inside. AST
Todd secured a handhold on the sea anchor to stabilise
his position and expedite the rescue. He then
repositioned to a second raft, containing three additional
survivors, who he also successfully rescued.
The IMRF was pleased to nominate a crew from another
member organisation, the UK & Irelands Royal National
Lifeboat Institution. The volunteer crew of the Port Isaac
inshore lifeboat helmsman Damien Bolton, and Nicola-
Jane Bradbury and Matthew Main were awarded a
Certificate of Commendation for rescuing two people in
rough and dangerous sea conditions beneath the cliffs of
the North Cornwall coast.
Two men who had been swept into the sea were within
an arc of semi-submerged rocks and were being tumbled
in confused and breaking 3-metre waves, making any
rescue extremely challenging. Operating at the extreme
limits of the lifeboats capabilities, Damien used great
seamanship skills to manoeuvre towards them, and both
were recovered to the boat. Sadly, however, one of the
men did not survive.
(photos courtesy RNLI/Bob Bulgin)
Five other Certificates and
12 Letters of Commend-
ation were also awarded as
the IMO honoured lifesavers from around the world.
The IMO is now seeking nominations for the 2014
Awards. In order to qualify, the action must have taken
place in the period 1 March 2013 to 28 February 2014;
and nominations must be submitted to the IMO by 15
April 2014. As the IMRF is on the judging panel, we ask
for nominations to be made via an IMO Member State if
possible. Contact [email protected] for further details.
LLIIFFEE LLIINNEE DDeecceemmbbeerr 22001133
www.international-maritime-rescue.org page 12
LLIIFFEE LLIINNEE
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 IMRFs 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 [email protected]
Lets spread the word, for the benefit of all at risk on the worlds waters.
The FIRST Project
There are other ways of improving ferry safety too. We
have featured the FIRST Project in LIFE LINE before.
Heres a quick update from project member Mikael
Hinnerson of the Swedish Sea Rescue Society.
In July some of the FIRST team did special training and
tests with TESO, the Dutch ferry company operating
between Texel and Den Helder. Here we see one of our
rescue runners alongside the Dokter Wagemaker.
TESO, like many other shipping companies, has had
incidents with the hooks of the ships rescue boat. This
makes people reluctant to trust the equipment. But
masters, mates and seamen agree that the FIRST launch
and recovery principle, using a cradle, is much safer.
Again, the improvements are there to be made, if the
regulators and operators are willing to make them. For
further information, see www.first-rescue.org.
Safe affordable ferries
On page 9 we discussed the problems of mass rescue
operations, and the work the IMRF is undertaking to
improve capability in such cases globally. But the MRO
problem needs to be tackled from the other end too.
Thats why the IMRF strongly supports efforts being made
to improve passenger ship safety, particularly in the
developing world, where ferries have to operate as
cheaply as possible.
This is the winning design in an international student
design competition run by the World Ferry Safety
Association and our sister organisation at the IMO,
Interferry (see www.ferrysafety.org).
The goal was to elicit new approaches for ferry design in
the developing world as well as to encourage designers to
enter this arena. There is both a need and an emerging
market. Dr Roberta Weisbrod, WFSA Executive Director,
said All the teams were technically strong and many had
innovative approaches. The winners were a team from the
University of British Columbia, Canada, with a monohull
vessel design with exceptional stability characteristics.
The entry was very complete in terms of design and cost
and fuel analysis. Features include CNG-fuelled engines,
modular cabins, and handicapped access.
The IMRF adds our congratulations to the winning team,
and to the other entrants. Now we hope to see their ideas
become reality!