International Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue Manual

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The International Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue (IAMSAR) Manual is a manual for organization and operation of maritime and aviation search and rescue.

Contents

The IAMSAR Handbook is jointly published by two UN agencies:

It contains guidelines for Search and Rescue in terms of shipping and aviation. The purpose of a common manual is to ensure that cooperation between the two areas of operation is effective and that operational cooperation can be carried out in actual rescue operations between different organizational and rescue units. It is important to ensure smooth cooperation between the two areas because many ship and aircraft accidents involve both ships and aircraft in the search and rescue operations.

The IAMSAR Manual consists of three volumes, which are published as a loose-leaf collection. [1]

Volume I, "Organization and Management", deals with the meaning of international, regional and national Search and Rescue activities and intergovernmental cooperation in order to achieve well-functioning and cost-effective SAR work. This volume is aimed primarily at the relevant government agencies.

Volume II, "Mission Co-ordination", provides guidelines for the planning and implementation of rescue operations and exercises. Volume II is to be carried on board rescue units and all other aircraft and ships that have the capacity, and in some cases, an obligation, to participate in Search and Rescue work The target groups are rescue organizations and the national rescue centers (JRCC, MRCC, and ARCC).

Volume III, "Mobile Facilities" ,must be carried on board by all vehicles that can undertake search or rescue tasks. This includes all merchant ships, as in an emergency they must be able to perform SAR operations and coordinate as on-scene commander. [2] Volume III describes in detail communication, organization and search methodology on site. It also contains guidelines for SAR aspects regarding evacuation of your own craft in an emergency.

Future additions being considered include enhanced man overboard (MOB) technologies, including SAR operation software for ECDIS and SAR drones. [3]

Adoption

The United States' National Search and Rescue Supplement was written as a supplement to the IAMSAR, and together they constitute the U.S.'s National Search and Rescue Plan. [4] The United States Coast Guard also publishes an addendum to the supplement [5] which is referenced several times in the USCG's Radiotelephone Handbook. [6]

Usage during major SAR operations

The Malaysian Airlines’ MH370 disappearance led ICAO to propose changes to how SAR air operations are conducted and prepared for, including the mandatory carriage of automatically deployable flight recorders. The possible changes are being considered for the 2019 edition. [7]

According to at least one source,

In fact, for decades ICAO has observed that "in many areas of the world, the fastest, most effective and practical way to achieve a global SAR service is to develop regional systems" (from its International Aeronautical and Maritime SAR (IAMSAR) manual). Sovereign states have verbally supported the concept, but concerns over sovereignty, nationalism and politics have stood in the way. [8]

Sources

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emergency position-indicating radiobeacon</span> Distress radio beacon, a tracking transmitter that is triggered during an accident

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coast guard</span> Maritime security organization

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air-sea rescue</span> Coordinated search and rescue of survivors at sea

Air-sea rescue, and aeronautical and maritime search and rescue (AMSAR) by the ICAO and IMO, is the coordinated search and rescue (SAR) of the survivors of emergency water landings as well as people who have survived the loss of their seagoing vessel. ASR can involve a wide variety of resources including seaplanes, helicopters, submarines, rescue boats and ships. Specialized equipment and techniques have been developed. Both military and civilian units can perform air-sea rescue. Its principles are laid out in the International Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue Manual. The International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue is the legal framework that applies to international air-sea rescue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maritime security operations</span>

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Procedure words are words or phrases limited to radiotelephony procedure used to facilitate communication by conveying information in a condensed standard verbal format. Prowords are voice versions of the much older procedural signs for Morse code which were first developed in the 1860s for Morse telegraphy, and their meaning is identical.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Search and Rescue Optimal Planning System</span> Search-and-rescue planning system

Search and Rescue Optimal Planning System (SAROPS) is a comprehensive search and rescue (SAR) planning system used by the United States Coast Guard in the planning and execution of almost all SAR cases in and around the United States and the Caribbean. SAROPS has three main components: The Graphical User Interface (GUI), the Environmental Data Server (EDS) and the Simulator (SIM). Using the Commercial Joint Mapping Tool Kit's (C/JMTK) government licensing of the Geographic Information System (GIS) SAROPS can be used in both a coastal and oceanic environment. Built into the simulator is the ability to access global and regional wind and current data sets making SAROPS the most comprehensive and powerful tool available for maritime SAR planners.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Halifax</span> Canadian rescue coordination centre

The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Halifax is a rescue coordination centre operated by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG).

A rescue co-ordination centre (RCC) is a primary search and rescue facility in a country that is staffed by supervisory personnel and equipped for co-ordinating and controlling search and rescue operations.

An emergency locator beacon is a radio beacon, a portable battery powered radio transmitter, used to locate airplanes, vessels, and persons in distress and in need of immediate rescue. Various types of emergency locator beacons are carried by aircraft, ships, vehicles, hikers and cross-country skiers. In case of an emergency, such as the aircraft crashing, the ship sinking, or a hiker becoming lost, the transmitter is deployed and begins to transmit a continuous radio signal, which is used by search and rescue teams to quickly find the emergency and render aid. The purpose of all emergency locator beacons is to help rescuers find survivors within the so-called "golden day", the first 24 hours following a traumatic event, during which the majority of survivors can usually be saved.

References

  1. ↑ "ISMAR Manual brochure" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2022-03-20. Retrieved 2018-02-09.
  2. ↑ "ISMAR Manual". Archived from the original on 2022-02-05. Retrieved 2018-02-09.
  3. ↑ "Integrated Man Overboard SAR Systems Needed".
  4. ↑ "United States National Search and Rescue Plan" (PDF).
  5. ↑ "US Coast Guard Addendum To The United States National Search And Rescue Supplement (NSS)" (PDF).
  6. ↑ "USCG Radiotelephone Handbook" (PDF).
  7. ↑ "MH370, Polar Code Spark SAR Rethink".
  8. ↑ "Civil Aviation Search and Rescue Worldwide".
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