IMRF, McMurdo Partner on SAR Initiatives

The IMRF, the charity supporting maritime SAR service globally, and McMurdo, a company in search and rescue and maritime domain awareness solutions, announced a partnership aiming at several key search and rescue (SAR) initiatives to be launched at next week’s World Maritime Rescue Congress in Bremerhaven, Germany.

Working together the IMRF and McMurdo will target some of the key challenges facing maritime SAR globally including rescue team training, the safety of artisanal fishermen and the emerging requirements of SAR services managing the unsafe mixed migration by sea.

According to McMurdo, the joint programs will focus on three key areas:

• Global Rescue Team Training – McMurdo and the IMRF will work with SAR organizations to enhance training on the existing and emerging products and processes used during SAR operations.  This training will include, for example, distress beacon technology updates, mission control center and rescue coordination center system management and mass rescue procedures. By providing a consistent, common global training framework rescue efforts will be tightly coordinated across agencies, countries and geographies
• Artisanal Fishery Safety Solutions – More than 24,000 fishermen die annually on the world’s waterways.  McMurdo and the IMRF will work with global fishing authorities to create and implement innovative SAR and vessel monitoring solutions specifically for artisanal fishermen whose smaller fishing boats often lack communications systems, power supplies and safety equipment. This initiative will be one of the first efforts to raise international awareness of the safety challenges facing artisanal fishing operations.
• Migrant Transportation Safety Solutions – In 2014, of the nearly 220,000 migrants and refugees who crossed the Mediterranean Sea, over 3,200 people died in maritime-related accidents.  With the number of people attempting the crossing expected to double in 2015, a solution is needed to increase migrant safety while streamlining SAR processes.  McMurdo, whose SAR technology infrastructure is used around the world by NASA, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Australia Maritime Safety Authority AMSA), Maritime New Zealand (MNZ) and other leading SAR authorities will work with the IMRF to define specific solution requirements for high traffic migration areas including the Mediterranean and Asia Pacific.

“This partnership with McMurdo will help our charity build on the work we have been doing with the IMO technical cooperation committee, and developing SAR organizations, to complete the global SAR Plan – a plan which promises to provide a consistency of SAR response and communication that is needed around the world” said Bruce Reid, CEO, IMRF.

“The depth of knowledge of the entire end-to-end search and rescue process McMurdo brings will enhance our industry events, activities and initiatives. The IMRF welcomes McMurdo’s support to help address the challenges we are seeing globally for maritime SAR. By combining our knowledge, skills and influence we can do more to prevent the loss of life in the world’s waters.”

“Our vision to build an ecosystem of products, technologies and services that prevents emergencies, protects assets and saves lives is tightly aligned with IMRF’s goal of preventing the loss of life in the world’s waters,” said Randel Maestre, Chief Marketing Officer, McMurdo.

The World Maritime Rescue Congress runs from June 1-4, 2015 at the Atlantic Hotel Sail City in Bremerhaven, Germany. Randel Maestre will be presenting “The Evolution of Search and Rescue in the Maritime World” as part of the SAR Coordination session track on Wednesday, June 3.