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Transcript of LIFELINE October 2013 - English
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:
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
news from Costa Rica, Uganda, Tanzania, the Baltic, the Gambia and Papua New Guinea
and more!
OOccttoobbeerr
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December 2010
December 2010
December 2010
December 2010
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December 2010
December 2010
December 2010
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December 2010
December 2010
December 2010
December 2010
December 2010
December 2010
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December 2010
December 2010
Hope
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.
LLIIFFEE LLIINNEE OOccttoobbeerr 22001133
www.international-maritime-rescue.org page 2
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.
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!
I hope you enjoy the read.
Dave Jardine-Smith
Contents
Hope ................................. 1
Editorial ................................. 2
Dates for the Diary ................................. 2
The IMRF in Bangladesh ................... 3
The IMRF in Sri Lanka ................... 4
The IMRF in Hong Kong ................... 4
Società Nazionale di Salvamento ... 5
SAR Matters: Hope ................................. 6
Rescue Boat Guidelines ................... 8
European Crew Exchange ................... 8
SAR-506 ................................. 9
ICAO/IMO Joint Working Group ... 9
Water skills training, Uganda ................... 10
Water skills training, Tanzania ................... 10
News from the Baltic ................... 11
News from the Gambia ................... 11
News from Papua New Guinea ... 11
Honours for IMRF stalwarts ................... 12
Send us your news & pictures ... 12
Dates for the Diary
Baltic ACO Course 15-18 October 2013
To be held in Finland. Contact [email protected] for details.
IMRF European Regional Development Meeting
18-19 October 2013 To be held in Estonia. Contact [email protected] 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 [email protected] 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.
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 OOccttoobbeerr 22001133
www.international-maritime-rescue.org page 3
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.
"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
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.
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.
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.
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
(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
LLIIFFEE LLIINNEE OOccttoobbeerr 22001133
www.international-maritime-rescue.org page 4
The IMRF in Sri Lanka...
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 non-
government 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.”
...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 multi-
purpose transportation of people
and cargo.
Particularly vulnerable groups include
passenger ferries, because of
overloading and the potential for
capsize; and the fishing fleet, with
many small vessels lacking a means of
communicating with SAR organisations
when they get into difficulty.
IMRF Chairman Michael Vlasto said:
"The IMRF can help in a number of
ways, including promoting inter-
agency 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
LSASL President Sanath Wijayaratne
presents Michael Vlasto with a plaque
to mark LSASL’s joining the IMRF
LLIIFFEE LLIINNEE OOccttoobbeerr 22001133
www.international-maritime-rescue.org page 5
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.
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.
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.
LLIIFFEE LLIINNEE OOccttoobbeerr 22001133
www.international-maritime-rescue.org page 6
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 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.
3rd
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.
Hope, listing to about 40° (photo: Royal Thai Navy)
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
worried about the 2nd
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
with a torch to bring out the 2nd
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 &
found nobody onboard except me & the 2nd
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
should join the group. I suggested to the 2nd
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.
(continued on page 7)
LLIIFFEE LLIINNEE OOccttoobbeerr 22001133
www.international-maritime-rescue.org page 7
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
Chief Officer. The Captain and the 2nd
Engineer are
among the missing.
(continued from page 6)
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
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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.
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 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.”
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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.
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.
Important to our organization are the 930 retired police
officers who are becoming our members through an
agreement with the Police Department of Costa Rica. We
want to be present at the most popular beaches, where
most tourists as well as locals congregate, and these are
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.
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 ‘non-
Governmental 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.
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
times for people believed to be in
the water. This revision stems from the work done by an
IMRF-coordinated expert group, as previously reported in
LIFE LINE. Similarly the JWG reviewed and approved,
with minor amendments, the IMRF’s revision of the
guidance on recovery techniques – how to get people out
of the water, particularly into big ships.
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.
Success: they’re wearing lifejackets!
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...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 self-
survival and rescue.
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 low-
resource 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.
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 [email protected]
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.
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.
(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.
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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, multi-
sectoral maritime accidents. It aims
to disseminate best practices; and to
develop more effective cooperation
models between States.
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 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.
For details of these courses, see
‘Dates for the Diary’, page 2.
News from the Gambia
Theo van der Linden, of the Royal
Netherlands Sea Rescue Institution
(KNRM), writes:
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.
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.
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.
Training in rescue boat operations
and maintenance procedures,
communications and SAR
procedures is also required, as is
training and safety equipment,
including lifejackets.
If anyone can assist, please contact Ann Laing, at [email protected]
News from Papua New Guinea
The Australian Government’s over-
seas 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.
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.
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.
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.”
Alotau
Trobiand Is
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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 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 [email protected]
Let’s spread the word, for the benefit of all at risk on the world’s waters.
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.
“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.”
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.”
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.