It's a busy week in maritime search and rescue

This is a busy week in the maritime search and rescue. The Sub-Committee on Radiocommunications and Search and Rescue is meeting in London. No doubt some interesting issues will evolve from those proceedings. Agenda items include GMDSS, the Cospas-SARSAT system, revisions to the IAMSAR manual, and revisions to the standards for float free 406 MHz EPIRBs.

While all of those items are of importance to the maritime and search and rescue community it is important to remember stalwart/legacy systems such as Amver as well. Just last week several ships were ice bound in the Baltic Sea. This situation could have led to large scale rescue operations if ice breakers couldn't free the vessels. Thankfully the vessels were all freed.

Here is some video of the ice breaking operations.



Can't see the video? Click here.

How does your company prepare for search and rescue operations on your vessels. How many survivors could your vessel embark and how long could you care for them? Important questions as more cruise/passenger vessels transit austere conditions.


Photo credit: Fotolia

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