Rescue Services News

A luxury cruise ship carrying 206 people remained stuck in a remote Greenland location on Wednesday after running aground earlier this week, the vessel's operator and rescue services said.The Danish military's Joint Arctic Command (JAC) said Tuesday's tide had failed to lift the 104-metre (341-foot) Ocean Explorer enough to free it."The tide that came in during the day, local time, did not provide the desired help to sail on," the JAC said in a statement.The passengers and crew remained safe on board, Australian cruise operator Aurora Expeditions said."There is no immediate danger to themselves, the vessel or the surrounding environment," Sydney-based Aurora said in a statement.The ship ran aground on Monday while touring the Alpefjord national park, some 1,400 km (870 miles) northeast of

In November 2020 I wrote a column in MREN that discussed the right of people to engage in crazy marine ventures. The example I used in that column was an attempt to row from South America to Antarctica. In it I also made note of the inherent unseaworthiness of single-handed ocean racing and noted that such foolishness often resulted in the public spending lots of money providing rescue services.The Ocean Gate Expedition Titan venture has now managed to set an entirely new standard…

A mother and her 7-year-old child have been rescued after falling overboard on Thursday from a ferry traveling from Sweden to Poland, Swedish media reported.The two were being winched to a helicopter and are taken to a hospital, Stefan Land from the Swedish Maritime Administration told TT news agency, without specifying their condition.The ferry, Stena Spirit, was in the Baltic Sea midway through its journey to Gdynia in Poland from Karlskrona in Sweden when the incident occurred.The 7-year-old fell in and the mother jumped in after, the rescue services told TT.A large rescue effort was initiated, with several helicopters and NATO ships in the area helping out, TT reported.(Reuters - Reporting by Anne Kauranen; Editing by Conor Humphries)

The Canadian Coast Guard has revealed big plans to invest in its fleet of small vessels.Joyce Murray, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, on Thursday announced $2.5 billion CAD (roughly $1.8 billion USD) for the construction of up to 61 new small vessels and the ongoing replacement of small craft, barges and workboats within the Canadian Coast guard fleet.“This is a critical investment that will help modernize the Canadian Coast Guard’s small vessel fleet,” Murray said.

An ailing worker was medevaced from a Transocean drillship 189 miles south of Port Fourchon, La., on Monday.The U.S. Coast Guard said its watchstanders at Sector New Orleans received a request at 2:21 a.m. from Bristol Search and Rescue Services to medevac a 60 year-old-male who was experiencing stroke like symptoms on board the Deepwater Thalassa.The watchstanders coordinated the launch of a Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans MH-60 Jayhawk aircrew and a Coast Guard Air Station Corpus Christi HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircrew.The MH-60 aircrew arrived on scene…

Swedish and Finnish rescue services began evacuating families and elderly passengers from a fire-stricken Swedish ferry in the Baltic sea late on Monday, but said the situation was calm and that no one had been injured.About 70 out of around 300 people onboard were scheduled to be evacuated by helicopter as the powerless vessel was drifting toward the island of Gotland and risked running aground later on Monday, at roughly 2100 GMT."We are evacuating families with children and the elderly. We have strong winds that make evacuation by boat difficult," a Swedish Maritime Administration spokesperson said.

ACR Electronics and Ocean Signal announced the development of next generation EPIRBs.Introducing integrated AIS (Automatic Identification System) within their EPIRBs for the first time in conjunction with further new technology, ACR and Ocean Signal will launch the advanced beacons this year ahead of the enforcement of new updated IMO (International Maritime Organization) Maritime Safety Committee EPIRB regulations.AIS EPIRBs will offer both recreational and commercial users the extra reassurance that other nearby vessels will be notified in an emergency…

Sea rescue services from the Canadian city of Halifax found and recovered 10 bodies from a Spanish fishing trawler that sank in rough sea off the eastern coast of Canada, the services said late on Tuesday, though 11 of the crew are still missing.“Regrettably, Joint Rescue Coordination Center (JRCC) Halifax can confirm that an additional three deceased individuals have been recovered from the sunken fishing vessel,” the center said on its Twitter account. Earlier, it announced the recovery of seven bodies.Three surviving sailors from the trawler…

Italian boat builder High Tech Marine (HTM) is constructing a new firefighting and rescue patrol boat for operation in the harbor waters and along the Monaco coastline.Commissioned by the Monaco Government, the vessel will be delivered by September 2022 and enter service immediately, enabling the region’s Corps des Sapeurs-Pompiers to provide firefighting and rescue services in the Principality's ports and along a coastal zone which may include the surrounding French territorial…

British and French officials traded blame on Wednesday after 27 migrants died when their dinghy deflated as they made a perilous crossing of the English Channel.The accident was the worst disaster on record involving migrants in the narrow seaway separating the two countries.The Channel is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes and currents are strong. Human traffickers typically overload the dinghies, leaving them barely afloat and at the mercy of waves as they try to reach…

Thirty-seven migrants are feared dead after a dinghy carrying dozens of people capsized off the coast of Spain's Canary Islands, the sole survivor to have been found so far told Spain's maritime rescue services on Thursday.A rescue helicopter carrying the survivor - a 30-year-old woman who appeared exhausted and shaken - and two corpses landed at Las Palmas de Gran Canaria airport, in the Canarian capital, after a cargo ship found them 135 miles away from the coast.The woman told rescue workers that 40 migrants were aboard the dinghy…

When an offshore wind farm or remote marine operation has an emergency medical situation that requires the extraction of an injured employee, every minute counts. Getting the injured employee from the point of injury to a hospital requires quick action. This process can be more complicated if the injury occurs in a difficult to access area like a wind turbine.Different situations determine how long it takes to extract an injured employeeIf the injured employee is mobile and medics can move them to the helideck on an installation, then extraction is simple.

New manual provides vital recommendations for operational planning and response in health emergenciesThe International Maritime Rescue Federation (IMRF), supported by Lloyd’s Register Foundation, has launched comprehensive guidance for anyone working in search and rescue, on how to ensure that SAR operations can continue safely in the face of challenges posed not only by COVID-19, but also by any future health emergencies.The Pandemic Response Guidance will support SAR providers…

Thirty-one fisherman have been rescued from a fishing vessel that caught fire and began to sink off the coast of Eastern Canada.At 7:05 p.m., Tuesday, the Joint Rescue Coordination Center in Halifax notified watchstanders at the U.S. Coast Guard First District Command Center that the 143-foot Atlantic Destiny was disabled with a fire on board, and was taking on water in 26-foot seas and 35-mile-per-hour winds.A U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod HC-144 Ocean Sentry fixed-wing crew…

I had only been working as a graduate engineer for a few years and was minding my own business working for a yacht designer when my boss asked me to get in touch with a person who was looking for engineering analysis. I called the number and arranged for the person to meet me at the office.A few days later a tall very athletic man walked up the stairs and introduced himself as Ned Gillette. He unfolded a drawing with a design for a rowboat, and said he intended to use it for a row from South America to Antarctica.I was young…

Ocean Signal has developed a compact Category 1 (auto-deploy) Emergency Position Indicating Rescue Beacon – the SafeSea EPIRB1 Pro.The new EPIRB1 Pro features a 30 percent reduction in size compared to other EPIRBs, a 10-year battery life and a retail price that makes it one of the most affordable EPIRBs on the market.Providing an essential link to emergency services for both recreational and commercial vessels, the Ocean Signal beacon complies with IMO regulations that require…

A fire onboard an oil tanker at Norway's Sture crude export terminal has been put out, the fire service told Reuters on Friday.The fire broke out in the engine room of the Dubai Harmony tanker during loading at the Equinor oil terminal on Norway's west coast, according to rescue services and police.No one was injured, and the terminal's output was not affected by the incident, although there was a partial evacuation of staff."The head of the response team on the site confirms that the fire was put out at 1257 CET (1057 GMT)…

BP Trinidad and Tobago LLC has awarded Vroon Offshore Services Aberdeen a multiple year, multi-million pound contract.Vroon said on Monday that BP had hired three emergency rescue and response vessels (ERRVs) from its subsidiary, Vroon Offshore Services Aberdeen.The North Sea’s largest operator of ERRVs said that it will provide three specialist vessels to support BP’s operations in the Caribbean: the VOS Gorgeous, the VOS Fabulous and the VOS Grace.Dedicated to supporting offshore operations 24/7 365 days a year, ERRVs are fully equipped to recover and rescue people from the water, provide a place of safety and medical aid. They also monitor the safety zone…

The engines of a luxury cruise ship that narrowly escaped disaster during a storm off Norway on Saturday failed because of relatively low levels of lubricating oil in the engines, the Norwegian Maritime Authority said on Wednesday.The Viking Sky, with almost 1,400 passengers and crew aboard, sent out a mayday signal on Saturday as it drifted in rough waters in the Norwegian Sea to within 100 metres of land.

A luxury cruise ship that had set sail with almost 1,400 passengers and crew aboard arrived at a port in Norway on Sunday after narrowly escaping disaster when its engines failed during a storm.The Viking Sky sent out a mayday signal on Saturday as it drifted in rough waters in the Norwegian Sea to within 100 metres of land.Rescue services airlifted 479 people, hoisting them one-by- one on to helicopters, before the weather subsided on Sunday and a tow could begin. Many of them were senior citizens.A total of 1,373 people had started the voyage and about 900 people were still on board as the ship arrived at the port of Molde on Norway's west coast."It was very nearly a disaster.

Rescue services had airlifted 479 people to safety from a luxury cruise liner with engine trouble off the coast of Norway by Sunday morning and began towing the vessel to a nearby port.The Viking Sky, with 1,373 passengers and crew on board, sent out a mayday signal on Saturday as it drifted towards land in the Norwegian Sea.The airlift of passengers, many of them elderly, from the Viking Cruises ship by helicopter was halted on Sunday morning as two tugboats started steering the vessel towards the nearest port.Founder and chairman of Viking Cruises, Norwegian billionaire Torstein Hagen, said he hoped the vessel would arrive at the port of Molde on Norway's west coast by Sunday afternoon."They've had a bit of a shocking experience…

The Indian Navy has inducted a Submarine Rescue System with a Deep Submergence Rescue Vessel (DSRV) along with associated equipment.According to a government press release, this system has a side scan sonar for locating the position of the submarine in distress at sea, providing immediate relief by way of posting Emergency Life Support Containers with the help of Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) and thereafter rescuing the crew of the submarine using the DSRV itself.In a submarine accident, rapidity of response is most crucial to safety of life. To ensure early mobilisation, the System has been procured in a Flyaway configuration which…

Eleven people on a river cruise were killed when their boat collided with a tugboat late on Monday in the Russian city of Volgograd, which is hosting matches in the soccer World Cup, rescue services said.Emergencies services received notification at around 10 p.m. (1900 GMT) on Monday that the vessels had collided on the Volga River, about 250 meters from the riverbank.There were 16 people on board the pleasure craft, all of them Russians, the RIA news agency cited the local administration as saying.Five people had been rescued…