SAR Convention

Introduction

The 1979 Convention, adopted at a league in Hamburg, was aimed at developing an external SAR plan, so that, no matter where an accident happen, the rescue of persons in distress at ocean will be coordinated by a SAR organization and, when necessity, by cooperation between neighbouring SAR organizations. Although the obligation of ships to go to the aid of vessels in straiten was enshrined both in tradition and in international treaties ( such as the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea ( SOLAS ), 1974 ), there was, until the adoption of the SAR Convention, no external system covering search and rescue operations. In some areas there was a well-established constitution able to provide aid promptly and efficiently, in others there was nothing at all .
The technical requirements of the SAR Convention are contained in an Annex, which was divided into five chapters. Parties to the Convention are required to ensure that arrangements are made for the provision of adequate SAR services in their coastal waters.

Parties are encouraged to enter into SAR agreements with neighbor States involving the establishment of SAR regions, the pool of facilities, administration of common procedures, training and affair visits. The Convention states that Parties should take measures to expedite entrance into its territorial waters of rescue units from other Parties.
The Convention then goes on to establish preparatory measures which should be taken, including the constitution of rescue coordination centres and subcentres. It outlines operating procedures to be followed in the event of emergencies or alerts and during SAR operations. This includes the appointment of an on-scene coordinator and his duties. Parties to the Convention may establish embark reporting systems to facilitate research and rescue operations, under which ships report their place to, for case, a coast radio station. This enables the interval between the loss of contact with a vessel and the initiation of search operations to be reduced. It besides helps to permit the rapid determination of vessels which may be called upon to provide aid including medical help when required .

Amendment Procedure

The SAR Convention allowed for amendments to the technical Annex to be adopted by a conference of Parties or by IMO ‘s Maritime Safety Committee, expanded to include all Parties, some of whom may not be members of the Organization. Amendments to the SAR Convention enter into power on a specify date unless objections are received from a want number of Parties .

IMO search and rescue areas

Following the adoption of the 1979 SAR Convention, IMO ‘s Maritime Safety Committee divided the world ‘s oceans into 13 search and rescue areas, in each of which the countries concerned have delimited search and rescue regions for which they are responsible. probationary research and rescue plans for all of these areas were completed when plans for the indian Ocean were finalized at a league held in Fremantle, Western Australia in September 1998 .

Revision of SAR Convention

The 1979 SAR Convention imposed considerable obligations on Parties – such as setting up the shore installations required – and as a result the Convention was not being ratified by as many countries as some early treaties. equally significant, many of the world ‘s coastal States had not accepted the Convention and the obligations it imposed.
It was generally agreed that one rationality for the small numeral of acceptances and the behind footstep of implementation was ascribable to problems with the SAR Convention itself and that these could best be overcome by amending the Convention.
At a meet in October 1995 in Hamburg, Germany, it was agreed that there were a number of solid concerns that needed to be taken into report, including :

• lessons learned from SAR operations;
• experiences of States which had implemented the Convention;
• questions and concerns posed especially by developing States which were not yet Party to the Convention;
• need to further harmonize the IMO and International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) SAR provisions; and
• inconsistent use of Convention terminology and phraseology.

IMO’s Sub-Committee on Radiocommunications and Search and Rescue ( COMSAR ) was requested to revise the technical Annex of the Convention. A draft text was prepare and was approved by the 68th school term of the MSC in May 1997, and was then adopted by the sixty-ninth seance of MSC in May 1998 .

The 1998 amendments

Adopted : 18 May 1998
Entry into force : 1 January 2000 The revised technical Annex of the SAR Convention clarifies the responsibilities of Governments and puts greater emphasis on the regional approach path and co-ordination between maritime and aeronautical SAR operations. The revised Annex includes five chapters :
Chapter 1 – Terms and Definitions This chapter updates the original chapter 1 of the same name.

Chapter 2 – Organization and Co-ordination Replaces the 1979 chapter 2 on Organization. The chapter has been re-drafted to make the responsibilities of Governments clear. It requires Parties, either individually or in cooperation with other States, to establish basic elements of a search and rescue service, to include :

• legal framework;
• assignment of a responsible authority;
• organization of available resources;
• communication facilities;
• co-ordination and operational functions; and
• processes to improve the service including planning, domestic and international co-operative relationships and training.

Parties should establish search and rescue regions within each sea area – with the agreement of the Parties concerned. Parties then accept duty for providing search and rescue services for a assign area. The chapter besides describes how SAR services should be arranged and national capabilities be developed. Parties are required to establish rescue coordination centres and to operate them on a 24-hour basis with train staff who have a work cognition of English.
Parties are besides required to “ ensure the closest feasible co-ordination between maritime and aeronautical services ”. Chapter 3 – Cooperation between States Replaces the original chapter 3 on Cooperation.
Requires Parties to coordinate search and rescue organizations, and, where necessary, search and rescue operations with those of neighbouring States. The chapter states that unless differently agreed between the States concerned, a Party should authorize, discipline to applicable home laws, rules and regulations, immediate entrance into or over its territorial ocean or territory for rescue units of other Parties entirely for the determination of search and rescue.
Chapter 4 – Operating Procedures Incorporates the previous chapters 4 ( Preparatory Measures ) and 5 ( Operating Procedures ) .
The chapter says that each RCC ( Rescue Coordination Centre ) and RSC ( Rescue Sub-Centre ) should have up-to-date information on search and rescue facilities and communications in the area and should have detailed plans for impart of search and rescue operations. Parties – individually or in cooperation with others should be capable of receiving distress alerts on a 24-hour footing. The regulations include procedures to be followed during an emergency and state that search and rescue activities should be coordinated on picture for the most effective results. The chapter says that “ Search and rescue operations shall continue, when operable, until all fair hope of rescuing survivors has passed ”. Chapter 5 – Ship reporting systems
Includes recommendations on establishing embark reporting systems for search and rescue purposes, noting that existing ship reporting systems could provide adequate information for search and rescue purposes in a given area.

IAMSAR Manual

concurrently with the revision of the SAR Convention, the IMO and the International Civil Aviation Organization ( ICAO ) jointly developed the International Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue ( IAMSAR ) Manual, published in three volumes covering Organization and Management ; Mission Coordination ; and Mobile Facilities. 2004 amendments – Persons in distress at sea

Adoption: May 2004
Entry into force: 1 July 2006
The amendments to the Annex to the Convention include :

• addition of a new paragraph in chapter 2 (Organization and co-ordination) relating to definition of persons in distress;
• new paragraphs in chapter 3 (Co-operation between States) relating to assistance to the master in delivering persons rescued at sea to a place of safety; and
• a new paragraph in chapter 4 (Operating procedures) relating to rescue co- ordination centres initiating the process of identifying the most appropriate places for disembarking persons found in distress at sea.

Recognizing the need to address the treatment of persons rescued at sea, at seventy-eighth school term of the Maritime Safety Committee in 2004, important amendments were made to SOLAS Convention and SAR Convention. MSC 78 besides adopted the Guidelines on the treatment of persons rescued at sea ( resolution MSC.167 ( 78 ) ). See insecure mix migration by sea for far details.