When
maritime nations gathered together in 1914 to develop the first international
shipping safety convention, following the loss of the Titanic two years
earlier, the focus was not just on preventing shipping accidents but also
improving the chances of survival if one should occur. That conference resulted
in the adoption of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at
Sea (SOLAS), which included regulations on provision of life-saving equipment
and the safety of navigation.SOLAS, which
has since been revised and updated many times, later came under the auspices
of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), which assumed global responsibility
for shipping when it came into being in 1959. While accident prevention is
a major goal of the Organization, IMO has also concentrated efforts on developing
world-wide, integrated systems to respond to shipping emergencies. The most
significant of these are the International Convention on Maritime Search
and Rescue (SAR) and the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System
(GMDSS).
The GMDSS -
which became fully effective from 1 February 1999 - is essentially a worldwide
network of automated emergency communications for ships at sea. It means
that all ocean‑going passenger ships and cargo ships of 300 gross tonnage
and upwards must be equipped with radio equipment that conforms to international
standards as set out in the system. The basic concept is that search and
rescue authorities ashore, as well as shipping in the immediate vicinity of
the ship in distress, can be rapidly alerted through satellite and terrestrial
communication techniques to a distress incident so that they can assist in
a coordinated SAR operation with the minimum of delay.
The 1979 SAR
Convention was designed to provide a global system for responding to emergencies
and the GMDSS was established to provide it with the efficient communication
support it needs. Both the GMDSS and SAR are crucial to maritime safety and
they are designed to ensure that any emergency at sea will result in a distress
call and the response to that call will be immediate and effective.
Although the
obligation of ships to go to the assistance of vessels in distress was enshrined
both in tradition and in international treaties (such as SOLAS), there was,
until the adoption in 1979 of the International Convention on Maritime Search
and Rescue (SAR), no international system covering search and rescue operations.
In some areas there was a well‑established organization able to provide
assistance promptly and efficiently, in others there was nothing at all.
Co‑ordination
and control of search and rescue operations was organized by each individual
country in accordance with its own requirements and as dictated by its own
resources. As a result, national organizational plans were developed along
different lines. The dissimilarity of such plans and lack of agreed and standardized
procedures on a world‑wide basis could give rise to difficulties, particularly
at the initial stages of alert. In some cases, this could result in an uneconomical
use of search and rescue facilities or in unnecessary duplication of effort.
IMO was charged
with improving this situation and, as a first step, a manual on search and
rescue operations was prepared for the guidance of those requiring assistance
at sea or who find themselves in a position to provide assistance to others.
It was adopted by the IMO Assembly in 1971 under the title of the Merchant
Ship Search and Rescue Manual (MERSAR). It was updated several times with
the latest amendments being adopted in 1992 - they entered into force in 1993.
MERSAR provided
guidance for those who, during emergencies at sea, may require assistance
from others or who may be able to provide assistance themselves. In particular,
it was designed to aid the master of any vessel who might be called upon to
conduct SAR operations at sea for persons in distress.
In 1978, the
Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) of IMO, adopted a second manual called the
IMO Search and Rescue Manual (IMOSAR)to help Governments to implement the
International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue. The manual provided
guidelines rather than requirements for a common maritime search and rescue
policy, encouraging all coastal States to develop their organizations on similar
lines and enabling adjacent States to co‑operate and provide mutual
assistance. It was also updated in 1992, with the amendments entering into
force in 1993.
The manual
was aligned as closely as possible with the International Civil Aviation Organization
(ICAO) Search and Rescue Manual to ensure a common policy and to facilitate
consultation of the two manuals for administrative or operational reasons.
MERSAR was also aligned, where appropriate, with IMOSAR.
The MERSAR
and IMOSAR manuals have now been replaced with a combined manual, published
in three volumes, called the International Aeronautical and Maritime Search
and Rescue (IAMSAR) manual.
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In1979, a conference
convened by IMO in Hamburg, Germany adopted the International Convention
on Maritime Search and Rescue (SAR Convention), which entered into force
in 1985. The aim was to develop an international SAR plan, so that, no matter
where an accident occurs, the rescue of persons in distress at sea will be
co‑ordinated by a SAR organization and, when necessary, by co‑operation
between neighbouring SAR organizations.
The Convention
will establish preparatory measures which should be taken, including the establishment
of rescue co‑ordination centres and sub-centres. It outlines operating
procedures to be followed in the event of emergencies or alerts and during
SAR operations. This includes the designation of an on‑scene commander
and his duties.
Under the Convention,
the world's oceans have been divided into 13 areas for search and rescue purposes.
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 neighbouring States involving the establishment
of SAR regions, the pooling of facilities, establishment of common procedures,
training and liaison visits including taking measures to expedite entry into
its territorial waters of rescue units from other Parties. The Convention
also encouraged the Parties to establish ship reporting systems, where these
are deemed necessary, under which ships report their position to 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 also helps to permit
the rapid determination of vessels which may be called upon to provide assistance
including medical help when required.
The SAR Convention
was designed to provide the framework for search and rescue operations. It
and the two associated manuals, together with other resolutions and recommendations
adopted at the 1979 Conference, should ensure that such operations are conducted
with maximum speed and efficiency, no matter where the distress incident occurs.
But its effectiveness depends almost entirely on how well it is implemented
and this depends in turn on the action taken by Parties to the Convention.
Because the
Convention imposes considerable obligations on Parties - such as setting up
the shore installations required - the Convention has not been ratified by
as many countries as some other treaties. By the end of 1997, for example,
the SAR Convention had been ratified by only 56 countries, whose combined
merchant fleets represented less than 50% of world tonnage. Equally important,
many of the world's coastal States had not accepted the Convention and the
obligations it imposes.
As a result,
the development of SAR plans in the 13 areas has been relatively slow and
by 1995 - ten years after the Convention entered into force - provisional
SAR plans had only been drawn up for nine regions.
It was generally
agreed that one reason for the small number of acceptances and the slow pace
of implementation was due to problems with the SAR Convention itself and that
these could best be overcome by amending the Convention. The Sub-Committee
on Radio-Communications and Search and Rescue (COMSAR) was requested to revise
the Convention. A draft text was prepared and was approved by the 68th session
of the MSC in May 1997, and was then adopted by the 69th MSC session in May
1998. The revised Convention entered into force on 1 January 2000.
The revised
SAR Convention clarifies the responsibilities of Governments and puts greater
emphasis on the regional approach and co-ordination between maritime and aeronautical
SAR operations. It is hoped the revised Convention will be more acceptable
to those States which have not yet ratified the 1979 SAR Convention - as of
2 October 2000, the SAR Convention had been ratified by only 65 countries,
whose combined merchant fleets represent less than 50% of world tonnage.
During the
last few years, a major effort has been made to improve the implementation
of the SAR Convention, particularly in facilitating the preparation of a global
search and rescue plan, which is the ultimate objective of the Convention.
Starting in
1981, IMO organized a series of seminars and conferences in order to prepare
and agree SAR plans for the oceans' 13 search and rescue areas, including
the delimitation of individual countries' search and rescue regions for which
they are responsible.
The
table below shows the seminars and conferences that have been held.
The
most famous of these occurred in 1912 when the Titanic sank with the
loss of more than 1,500 lives. Although 700 lives were saved when the liner
Carpathia picked up the Titanic's distress message, the death
toll may have been reduced had the Californian, which was a relatively
short distance from the scene, done the same. Unfortunately her radio officer
was off duty.
Satellites
offered a number of advantages over conventional radio systems. One of the
most important is the fact that they offer a solution to the problem that
radio messages travel in straight lines. Because they do not follow the curve
of the Earth's surface eventually they disappear into space (except on HF).
Radio messages sent via a satellite also travel in straight lines - but they
can immediately be re-directed from the satellite back to Earth, greatly extending
the range of communications. Instead of a ship sending out a distress alert
and hoping that another ship is near enough to hear, satellites enable the
message to be sent to a satellite and then back to a dedicated station on
land that is designed and equipped to deal with such emergencies.