Joint Agency Coordination Centre

Last updated

Joint Agency Coordination Centre
Agency overview
Formed30 March 2014
Headquarters Canberra, ACT, Australia
Minister responsible
Website infrastructure.gov.au

The Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) is an Australian government agency which was established on 30 March 2014 to coordinate search and recovery operations for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which disappeared on 8 March 2014 and was soon thereafter determined to have ended in the Southern Indian Ocean, within Australia's concurrent aeronautical and maritime search and rescue regions. The JACC is an agency within Australia's Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development, headed by Judith Zielke. It does not perform any search, recovery, or investigation activities, but coordinates the search effort and serves as a primary point of contact for information about the search for media and families of Flight 370 passengers.

Contents

Background

On 8 March 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Beijing, China with 239 persons aboard; a search in the South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand was promptly initiated near the aircraft's last voice contact with air traffic control and final contact with secondary radar (the type of radar used by air traffic control). [1] : 1–3  A week after the disappearance, Malaysia announced that military radar determined that the aircraft had traveled west across the Malay Peninsula after being lost by air traffic control. They also announced that communications with a satellite indicated that the aircraft continued to fly for several hours and was last located along one of two corridors—arcing northwest and southwest from Malaysia. [2] [3]

The northern corridor was soon discounted [4] and the focus of the search shifted to the Southern Indian Ocean, west of Australia and within Australia's concurrent aeronautical and maritime Search and Rescue (SAR) regions that extend to 75°E longitude. [5] [6] On 17 March, Australia agreed to lead the search in the southern locus from Sumatra to the southern Indian Ocean; the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), Australia's search and rescue agency, initially coordinated the search within Australia's SAR region, correlating information with the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) and officials in Malaysia. [1] : 1, 5 

History

Establishment

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced the creation of the JACC on 30 March 2014 to coordinate the search within Australian waters; [7] the JACC became operational the following day, assuming from AMSA the coordination of the search effort and communications with the media, foreign governments, and between Australian government agencies. [8] Initially based in Perth, Western Australia, the JACC offices were relocated in May 2014 to Canberra, although they can be quickly relocated to Perth if necessary. [9]

The shifting search zones for Flight 370 in the Southern Indian Ocean. The inset shows the path of taken by the vessel ADV Ocean Shield operating a towed pinger locator, acoustic detections, and the sonar search. The current underwater phase (both the wide area search and priority area) is shown in pink. MH370 SIO search.png
The shifting search zones for Flight 370 in the Southern Indian Ocean. The inset shows the path of taken by the vessel ADV Ocean Shield operating a towed pinger locator, acoustic detections, and the sonar search. The current underwater phase (both the wide area search and priority area) is shown in pink.

After the establishment of the JACC, a search of the ocean surface by aircraft continued until 28 April. An acoustic underwater search for underwater locator beacons attached to the aircraft's flight recorders ended 14 April, followed by a sonar survey of the seafloor near an area where acoustic detections were made. The sonar survey finished on 28 May and found nil debris from the aircraft. [1] : 5–14 

After the initial search efforts through May, active searching ceased as plans and preparations were made for a new phase, called the "underwater search," [9] which would be preceded by a bathymetric survey. Plans for the new phase were announced in late June and the underwater search commenced in October 2014. [1] : 1  [10] [11]

Organisation

The JACC is a division of the Australian government's Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development. The Australian government has budgeted A$2 million over two years to the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development for costs related to the JACC. [9]

At the time of its establishment, retired Air Chief Marshal Sir Angus Houston—former head of Australia's military (2005–2011) [12] —was appointed to head the JACC by Prime Minister Abbott. [7] After the crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, in July 2014, Houston left the agency when he was appointed as Australia's special envoy in Ukraine to recover and repatriate bodies of Australian victims, assist relatives of Australian victims, and ensure that a proper investigation of the crash was initiated in accordance with international standards. [13] [14] In January 2015, Houston was appointed a Knight of the Order of Australia for his military service and for his "continued commitment to serve the nation in leadership roles, particularly the national responses to the Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 and Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 disasters." [15] : 1  As of March 2015, Judith Zielke is the Chief Coordinator of the JACC. [16] [17] Zielke is also the executive director of the JACC's parent division, the Surface Transport Policy division, within the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development. [16]

Activities

Angus Houston speaking at Joint Agency Coordination Centre press conference in Perth on 14 April 2014 Angus Houston, JACC Perth1.JPG
Angus Houston speaking at Joint Agency Coordination Centre press conference in Perth on 14 April 2014

The JACC does not perform any search, recovery, or investigation activities, but provides a single point of contact for affected parties, including relatives of the missing passengers and crew, and communication between agencies and organisations involved in the search. The JACC also provides information to the public about the latest developments in the search and recovery operation. [7] [9] [18]

Search coordination

The JACC is responsible for coordinating the search efforts for Flight 370 within Australian waters. At the time of the agency's creation, the search effort involved China, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, South Korea, United Kingdom, and the United States as well as several agencies of the Australian government: the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), the Department of Defence, and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. [1] : 1  [7] [8] The search activities also involved analysis of the flight's satellite communications by Inmarsat, the AAIB (UK), the NTSB (US), and other organisations. [1] : 1 

After the initial search efforts through May, the agency has worked primarily with Australian government agencies, Malaysia, and China to plan and carry out the bathymetric survey and underwater search. The JACC works closely with the ATSB, which is the agency responsible for defining the search area and carrying out the tenders for the underwater search and, if possible pieces of Flight 370 are located, the recovery effort. [1] : 1  [17] Geoscience Australia works closely with the ATSB to perform the bathymetric survey and underwater search. [9] [19] The JACC also works with Malaysia and China, which have both sent representatives to work at the JACC offices. [9]

Media

External video
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg Search for MH370 A video produced by the JACC explaining the complexities and activities related to the underwater search for families of Flight 370 passengers and the general public.

The JACC is the primary source of information from Australian government concerning the search. [17] Since September 2014, [20] the JACC has issued weekly updates—"Operational Search Updates"—highlighting the week's key developments, search progress, ship movements, and weather. The updates also mention and link to newly released images, interviews, videos, media statements, and reports concerning the search and released by agencies involved in search activities. [21] The agency's website maintains press releases, transcripts of press conferences, communiqués of the tripartite meetings (between Australia, China, and Malaysia), and photos, videos, maps, and reports published by several agencies that are related to the search. [22]

Relatives of passengers

The JACC serves as a single point of contact for the relatives of Flight 370 passengers. [7] The agency's weekly search updates are provided in both English and Mandarin Chinese (the majority of Flight 370's passengers were Chinese). [20] In addition to search information, the JACC serves as a liaison with the passengers' families to provide visas, counselling, accommodation assistance, and interpretation services. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Search and rescue</span> Search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger

Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search is conducted over. These include mountain rescue; ground search and rescue, including the use of search and rescue dogs ; urban search and rescue in cities; combat search and rescue on the battlefield and air-sea rescue over water.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flight recorder</span> Aircraft electronic recording device

A flight recorder is an electronic recording device placed in an aircraft for the purpose of facilitating the investigation of aviation accidents and incidents. The device may often be referred to as a "black box", an outdated name which has become a misnomer—they are now required to be painted bright orange, to aid in their recovery after accidents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angus Houston</span> Senior Royal Australian Air Force officer, former Chief of the Defence Force

Air Chief Marshal Sir Allan Grant "Angus" Houston, is a retired senior officer of the Royal Australian Air Force. He served as Chief of Air Force from 20 June 2001 and then as the Chief of the Defence Force from 4 July 2005. He retired from the military on 3 July 2011.

Australian Maritime Safety Authority

Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) is an Australian statutory authority responsible for the regulation and safety oversight of Australia's shipping fleet and management of Australia's international maritime obligations. The authority has jurisdiction over Australia's exclusive economic zone which covers an area of 11,000,000 square kilometres (4,200,000 sq mi). AMSA maintains Australia's shipping registries: the general and the international shipping registers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fugro</span> Dutch multinational public company headquartered in Leidschendam, Netherlands,

Fugro is a Dutch multinational public company headquartered in Leidschendam, Netherlands. It is primarily a services company focused on geotechnical, survey and geoscience services. The company is listed on Euronext Amsterdam, Mark Heine is the CEO and Chairman of the Board of Management and Harrie L.J. Noy is Chairman of the Supervisory Board.

JACC may refer to:

ABFC <i>Ocean Shield</i>

Australian Border Force Cutter (ABFC) Ocean Shield is an offshore patrol vessel operated by the Australian Border Force. The ship was originally ordered in 2010 by DOF Subsea as an offshore support vessel, and was laid down by STX OSV as MSV Skandi Bergen in 2011. In 2012, the Australian Department of Defence was seeking a short-term replacement for the decommissioned Kanimbla-class amphibious landing ships, and negotiated to purchase the under-construction Skandi Bergen from DOF Subsea. The ship was completed, and entered Royal Australian Navy (RAN) service in mid-2012 as the civilian-crewed Australian Defence Vessel (ADV) Ocean Shield.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 in Malaysia</span> List of events

The following lists events from 2014 in Malaysia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malaysia Airlines Flight 370</span> Passenger aircraft flight that went missing in 2014

Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 (MH370/MAS370) was an international passenger flight operated by Malaysia Airlines that disappeared on 8 March 2014 while flying from Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia to its planned destination, Beijing Capital International Airport in China. The crew of the Boeing 777-200ER, registered as 9M-MRO, last communicated with air traffic control (ATC) around 38 minutes after takeoff when the flight was over the South China Sea. The aircraft was lost from ATC’s secondary surveillance radar screens minutes later, but was tracked by the Malaysian military’s primary radar system for another hour, deviating westward from its planned flight path, crossing the Malay Peninsula and Andaman Sea. It left radar range 200 nautical miles northwest of Penang Island in northwestern Peninsular Malaysia.

Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared on 8 March 2014, after departing from Kuala Lumpur for Beijing, with 227 passengers and 12 crew members on board. Malaysia's former Prime Minister, Najib Razak, stated that the aircraft's flight ended somewhere in the Indian Ocean, but no further explanation had been given. Despite searches finding debris considered with strong certainty to originate from the crash, official announcements were questioned by many critics, and several theories about the disappearance were proposed. Some of these theories were described as conspiracy theories.

The Zenith Plateau is a large bathymetric high in the Indian Ocean, located about 450 kilometres (280 mi) west-northwest of the Wallaby Plateau, 1,400 kilometres (870 mi) west-northwest of Carnarvon, Western Australia, and 1,700 kilometres (1,100 mi) north-west of Perth, Western Australia. The summit of the Zenith Plateau lies 1,960 meters (6,430 ft) below sea level and its base is at about 5,000 meters (16,000 ft) below sea level. It is about 300 kilometres (190 mi) long and 200 kilometres (120 mi) wide. In the east, the Zenith Plateau is separated from the Wallaby (Cuvier) Plateau by a 100–150 kilometres (62–93 mi) wide, north to northeast-trending bathymetric trough. The Zenith Plateau lies outside of the Australian Exclusive Economic Zone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bluefin-21</span> Autonomous underwater vehicle

The Bluefin-21 is an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) developed by Bluefin Robotics for defence, commercial or scientific use. It found its most famous use in April 2014 in the search for the wreckage of the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malaysia Airlines Flight 17</span> Airliner shot down by Russian-controlled forces in 2014

Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17/MAS17) was a scheduled passenger flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur that was shot down by Russian-controlled forces on 17 July 2014, while flying over eastern Ukraine. All 283 passengers and 15 crew were killed. Contact with the aircraft, a Boeing 777-200ER, was lost when it was about 50 km (31 mi) from the Ukraine–Russia border, and wreckage from the aircraft fell near Hrabove in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, 40 km (25 mi) from the border. The shoot-down occurred during the war in Donbas over territory controlled by Russian separatist forces.

MV <i>Fugro Equator</i>

MV Fugro Equator is a survey vessel owned and operated by Dutch company Fugro to provide a range of offshore survey capabilities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370</span> Search for a missing Boeing 777 in the southern Indian Ocean

The disappearance on 8 March 2014 of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, a scheduled international passenger flight from Kuala Lumpur International Airport to Beijing Capital International Airport, prompted a large, multinational search in Asia and the southern Indian Ocean that became the most expensive search in aviation history. Analysis of communications between the aircraft and Inmarsat by multiple agencies has concluded that the flight ended in the southern Indian Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 satellite communications</span> Overview of MH370s satellite-transmitted messages

The analysis of communications between Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 and Inmarsat's satellite telecommunication network provide the primary source of information about Flight 370's location and possible in-flight events after it disappeared from military radar coverage at 2:22 Malaysia Standard Time (MYT) on 8 March 2014, one hour after communication with air traffic control ended and the aircraft departed from its planned flight path while over the South China Sea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370</span>

The timeline of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 lists events associated with the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370—a scheduled, commercial flight operated by Malaysia Airlines from Kuala Lumpur International Airport to Beijing Capital International Airport on 8 March 2014 with 227 passengers and 12 crew. Air traffic control lost contact with Flight 370 less than an hour into the flight, after which it was tracked by military radar crossing the Malay Peninsula and was last located over the Andaman Sea. Analysis of automated communications between the aircraft and a satellite communications network has determined that the aircraft flew into the southern Indian Ocean, before communication ended shortly after 08:19 (UTC+8:00). The disappearance initiated a multi-national search effort that became the most expensive search in aviation history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air Patrol Squadron 3 (JMSDF)</span> Military unit

Air Patrol Squadron 3 is a unit in the Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force. It is a part of Fleet Air Wing 4 and is based at Naval Air Facility Atsugi in Kanagawa prefecture. It is equipped with Kawasaki P-1 aircraft.

MV <i>Havila Harmony</i> Support vessel

The MV Havila Harmony is a multi-role, dynamically-positioned support vessel built in 2005 for subsea construction and support operations. The vessel is owned by Havila Shipping and currently on long-term charter to Fugro.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jailani Johari</span> Malaysian politician

Dato' Sri Jailani Johari is a Malaysian politician who previously served as Deputy Minister of Communication and Multimedia under the Barisan Nasional administration of then Prime Minister, Najib Razak from 2013 to 2018. He is a member of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), a component party of the BN administration.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "MH 370 – Definition of Underwater Search Areas" (PDF). Australian Transport Safety Bureau. 26 June 2014. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 August 2014.
  2. ↑ "Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 deliberately flown off course, systems switched off: PM" (text, images & video). ABC News. 15 March 2014. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  3. ↑ Rivera, Gloria; Margolin, Josh; Thomas, Pierre; Good, Dan (15 March 2014). "'Deliberate Act' Used to Steer Missing Plane Off Course". ABC News . Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  4. ↑ Hussain, Haris; Karim, Farrah Naz (18 March 2014). "MISSING MH370: EXCLUSIVE: Flying as low as 80 feet 'possible'". The New Straits Times. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  5. ↑ "Arrangements in Australia". Australian Maritime Safety Authority. Archived from the original on 24 February 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  6. ↑ "National Search and Rescue Manual – June 2014 edition" (PDF). Australia Maritime Safety Authority. p. 231. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 April 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston to lead Joint Agency Coordination Centre". Prime Minister of Australia. 30 March 2014. Archived from the original on 3 November 2014.
  8. 1 2 "Search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370: Timeline of AMSA's involvement". Australian Maritime Safety Authority . Archived from the original on 1 March 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Joint Agency Coordination Centre". About Us. Archived from the original on 10 March 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  10. ↑ Smyth, Jamie (26 June 2014). "Search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 to resume in new area" . Financial Times . Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  11. ↑ "MH370 Operational Search Update — 08 October 2014". Joint Agency Coordination Centre. 8 October 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  12. ↑ "Houston to chair Airservices Australia". ABC News. Abc.net.au. 6 December 2011. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
  13. ↑ Chi, Melissa (8 March 2015). "Angus Houston says not surprised MH370 still lost a year on". MalayMail Online. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
  14. ↑ "Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston to Lead Australia's Response to MH17 Investigation and Recovery Efforts". Prime Minister of Australia. 21 July 2014. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  15. ↑ Fraser, Mark (26 January 2015). "Appointments and awards" (PDF). Governor-General of Australia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 January 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  16. 1 2 "Organisational Structure" (PDF). Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development . 10 March 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 March 2015. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
  17. 1 2 3 Xu, Haijing (8 March 2015). "Interview: Search team remains hopeful to find MH370 in priority area: JACC chief coordinator". SINA English. Xinhua English. Archived from the original on 18 March 2015. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
  18. ↑ "Joint Agency Coordination Centre". Joint Agency Coordination Centre. Archived from the original on 11 March 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2015. The JACC is the coordination point for whole-of-Australian Government information, messaging and stakeholder engagement, including keeping the families of those onboard and the general public informed of the progress of the search. The JACC continues working closely with the Government of Malaysia, which under international law has overall responsibility for the search. The JACC does not perform any search, recovery or investigation activities. These activities remain the responsibility of the expert agencies.
  19. ↑ "MH370: Bathymetric Survey". Geoscience Australia . Archived from the original on 18 March 2015. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  20. 1 2 "Operational Search Update". Joint Agency Coordination Centre. Archived from the original on 10 March 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2015. Note that the individual updates () are in English and Mandarin Chinese.
  21. ↑ Examples:
  22. ↑ "Media". Joint Agency Coordination Centre. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.