A rescue co-ordination centre (RCC) is a primary search and rescue (SAR) facility in a country that is staffed by supervisory personnel and equipped for co-ordinating and controlling search and rescue operations.
RCCs are responsible for a geographic area, known as a "search and rescue region of responsibility" (SRR). SRRs are designated by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). RCCs are operated unilaterally by personnel of a single military service (e.g. an air force, or a navy) or a single civilian service (e.g. a national police force, or a coast guard).
A Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre or JRCC is a special type of RCC that is often operated by personnel from multiple military services, civilian services, or a combination of military and/or civilian services. [1] A JRCC will oversee SAR operations for a variety of environments, both on land and at sea.
A Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre or MRCC is a type of RCC dedicated exclusively to organising search and rescue in a maritime environment.
A Maritime Rescue Sub-Centre or MRSC is a special type of RCC which operates almost identically to an MRCC but on a smaller scale, usually dictated by a specific environment within which it operates. An MRSC acts as a satellite center to an MRCC or JRCC and is operated to handle the workload for a particular geographic area within the SRR.