The ongoing migrant crisis across the Mediterranean region continues to cause huge humanitarian, border control, and maritime SAR challenges. The plight of hundreds of thousands of people fleeing war, abuse or poverty and risking their lives, in sea crossings particularly, has aroused strong responses, from people wanting to help the displaced, and people wanting to stem the tide.
The IMRF is coordinating the work of its SAR organisation members in support of the relevant SAR authorities in the region. Our common aim is to provide properly coordinated and properly trained and equipped units where they are most needed.
Bruce Reid, IMRF’s Chief Executive Officer, says: “Great work is being done by professional rescue crews from all over Europe, coordinated by our friends in the Italian and Hellenic Coast Guards, with the assistance too of SAR colleagues in Malta and Turkey.
“But we are concerned by reports of less well-prepared responses at sea, by people whose good intentions are undoubted but who may not fully understand the procedures internationally agreed for maritime SAR – procedures which make a well-tried system work efficiently, to save more lives.”3605521 2048 1152
The IMRF has noted with particular concern recent reports that some would-be rescuers do not fully understand the legal context of rescue at sea, and may have been deterred from helping people in distress by concerns about possible legal action by local authorities seeking to counter trafficking activity.
Such concerns are misplaced, says Bruce. International maritime law in respect of rescue at sea is clear. “It’s important to recognise that rescue of people in distress is a duty placed on everyone at sea. That applies whether in territorial or international waters, and regardless of the legal status of the people in distress or the circumstances in which they are found.”
All vessels at sea (with certain very specific exceptions such as warships, which are nevertheless encouraged to comply) must try to rescue people in distress if it is reasonably safe for them to do so, wherever they may be. ‘Distress’ is defined in common-sense terms: people should be considered in need of rescue if “there is a reasonable certainty that [they are] threatened by grave and imminent danger”, according to the International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue – the ‘SAR Convention’.
States which are Parties to the SAR Convention are required to establish SAR services and to assist in rescue, including enabling vessels to land rescued people at places of safety. Anyone involved in SAR at sea should report to the relevant Rescue Coordination Centre, who will help them as necessary.
“It’s important too,” says Bruce, “To emphasise that we are talking about rescuing people in distress here – people who will die if not rescued. This is different to highly important but less immediately urgent humanitarian responses, where lives are not imminently at risk. And it’s different to border control issues, too. SAR takes place within that broader context, of course – and the IMRF understands that the overall situation is complex. But SAR is simple in principle, and its procedures are established in international law. If people are in distress at sea they must be rescued if possible, and ‘rescue’ includes being brought to a place of safety. The IMRF urges all concerned to find solutions to the wider issues, and to enable the maritime SAR services to do their lifesaving work.”
The key international instruments as regards obligations and procedures in maritime distress cases are the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and the International Maritime Organization’s Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) and SAR Conventions.
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such a perilous way.
Search and Rescue (SAR) services throughout the world depend on
ships – for the most part merchant vessels - to assist persons in
distress at sea. Nowadays, distress signals can be rapidly
transmitted by satellite and terrestrial communication techniques
both to search and rescue authorities ashore, and to ships in the
immediate vicinity. The rescue operation can be swift and coordinated.
Yet, even when the rescue has been accomplished, problems can
arise in securing the agreement of States to the disembarkation of
migrants and refugees, especially if proper documentation is
lacking. Recognizing this problem, member States of the
International Maritime Organization (IMO) have adopted
amendments to two of the relevant international maritime
conventions . These aim to ensure that the obligation of the ship
master to render assistance is complemented by a corresponding
obligation of States to co-operate in rescue situations, thereby
relieving the master of the responsibility to care for survivors, and
allowing individuals who are rescued at sea in such circumstances to
be delivered promptly to a place of safety