Our USCG Hosts
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Our USCG Hosts |
San Juan, Puerto Rico, July 15 – 17, 2008. Participants from twenty-two countries representing government agencies, Coast Guards and navies from individual nations, and volunteer life-saving organizations met in San Juan to explore strategies aimed at saving lives on the water in a search and rescue (SAR) conference hosted by the US Coast Guard, Sector San Juan, USSOUTHCOM and the Auxiliary.
CDR Rob Warren, Sector San Juan opened the conference, commenting that as the result of this conference the SAR system in the Caribbean will be strengthened. He noted the Caribbean has a vast operating area and limited resources.
CAPT Ed Pino, Commander Sector San Juan, then welcomed the group. In his remarks he noted that the conference had brought together a lot of expertise – truly the best in the Caribbean, to exchange best practices, discuss tactics and seek ways to collectively improve overall search and rescue coordination in the Eastern Caribbean. He praised the superb search and rescue missions in the area and the positive and effective international cooperation.
The area comprises 1.3 million nautical miles and rarely does a week go by without a chance for the nations to work with their counterparts. Of the 420 SAR cases in 2007, 50 of them were done in direct cooperation with island nations. Resources are scarce and partnerships allow everyone to reach out and rescue those in danger at sea. Improving on that is what the conference is all about.
Commodore Ev Tucker, Director of International Affairs, USCG Auxiliary welcomed participants and expressed his thanks to Sector San Juan for their work and to US Southern Command for providing funding. He remarked that one way to move ahead is to utilize volunteers. A model can be seen in the newly formed volunteer organization in Jamaica. COMO Tucker also thanked the numerous members of the Auxiliary’s Division 1 who supported the conference.
Over the three day conference participants took advantage of the opportunity to interact formally and informally and share ideas and advances in search and rescue. Presentations from the regional Coordination Centers brought updates from representatives from Trinidad / Tobago, from Fort de France, from the Dominican Republic and from Haiti. All expressed concerns typical of the region where resources are fully engaged by demands made on them and stressed their reliance on partnerships and sharing of information.
Mr. David Edwards, Coast Guard International SAR, underlined this awareness of the need for partnerships noting a need to have these and that SAR response can be a “victim” if agreements are not written. He praised the work of CDERA (Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency).
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The Entire Group |
Mr. Ben Strong, United National AMVER Representative gave an overview of the (Automated Mutual Vessel Rescue System) program known as AMVER. At this time 18,000 vessels are enrolled from over 140 countries. All are willing to help with a rescue at sea on request. In 2007 181 AMVER cases resulted in 450 lives saved and to date in 2008 there have been 92 cases with 130 lives saved. He detailed the method a Regional Control Center (RCC) can use to request aid from AMVER.
“Bottom up” SAR delivery aimed at unregulated vessels in underdeveloped nations where there is no SAR organization was the subject of the presentation by Michael Vlasto, Chairman of the International Maritime Rescue Federation. It is in these nations that the most lives are lost. He gave an example of improvements that can be made using the National Lakes Rescue Corporation as a model. This effort centered on Lake Victoria in central Africa and began with prevention. The next step was a safety net – a quick response boat. The program got the fishing community behind them in a program to make their own life jackets using simple materials. A Mega-float club was formed and communications aimed at preventing drowning deaths were improved. In the first six months, 47 lives were saved be updated based on lessons learned. He finished by asking, “Do you have a plan?”
Two of the sessions gave overviews of the oldest volunteer rescue organizations in the world, the Swedish Rescue and the Royal Naval Lifeboat Institute. Volunteers in both organizations work in very different sea conditions / temperatures but there were lessons to be shared with representatives working in warmer waters.
Breakout sessions gave attendees exposure to topics as diverse as the newly formed Jamaica Search and Rescue organization (JASAR), current training in Search and Rescue planning, marketing and public affairs, and leadership training for volunteers.
At the end of the conference there was agreement that the goal had been met – that search and rescue in the Eastern Caribbean had been strengthened.
~HRW
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