International Maritime Rescue Federation
In short - here's what the International Maritime Rescue Federation (IMRF)is all about -
A Global Body for Maritime Search and Rescue
The International Maritime Rescue Federation (IMRF) is a charity which unites the world's maritime search and rescue organizations in one truly global body. Through IMRF, member organizations freely share their expertise and technology and openly co-operate with one another for the good of all and to achieve their common humanitarian aim -
"PREVENTING LOSS OF LIFE IN THE WORLD'S WATERS"
Through IMRF, the worlds maritime rescue services combine their scarce resources in support of one another, and particularly to assist less fortunate colleagues who work tirelessly and bravely to save lives in the world's poorer regions. Together IMRF members aspire towards the vision that, one day, all users of the world's waters can do so in reasonable safety.
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IMRF - Preventing Loss of Life at Sea
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As 2/3 of our planet's surface is covered by water, the seas play are fundamental role in supporting life on earth. The world's waters provide man with an abundant source of food, an efficient means of transportation, access to rich deposits of minerals and an almost boundless leisure amenity.
Much of our everyday food, materials, goods and energy either come directly from the sea, or are transported to us on the sea. Every hour of every day hundreds of thousands of people work or travel on the waters, in their normal daily business, or to take vacations. More and more of us spend our leisure time on, or near the water. More and more of our friends and family members peoples are traveling on, or over the seas to all parts of the globe, often to distant and exotic water-side locations. In one way or another, the world's waters are part of our everyday lives, or those of our family and friends.
The sea can be a great friend to man, but can also be a formidable foe. When things go wrong they can go badly wrong - and very quickly. Man does not have inherent biological capability to survive for long in water. We can't walk on it, we can't breathe in it and we loose our body heat rapidly in it. We depend on effective maritime emergency services being readily available to us for when things go wrong. IMRF and its member organizations pledges themselves to working towards a visionary new world where no lives are needlessly lost in the world's waters.
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Working Together - Providing Effective Maritime Rescue
IMRF member organizations provide a full range of life saving services around the world's coastlines, on rivers and large inland bodies of water and out onto the world's oceans. IMRF members range from the worlds largest and long established search & rescue services to small start-up organisations which are working hard to become operational.
"WE ONLY COMPETE WITH THE SEAS"
All IMRF member organizations realize that saving lives is not a competitive business and that there are great advantages in sharing ideas, experiences, and new developments freely among one another. Larger organizations with the resources to conduct projects by themselves achieve more robust
IMRF is the proud successor of the International Lifeboat Federation (ILF) which has brought together more than ninety different member organizations from over sixty different countries, since it was first established in 1924.
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Funding of Maritime Rescue
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IMRF's members provide maritime emergency services free of any charge to those in need.
CASUALTIES IN DISTRESS ARE NOT CHARGED FOR LIFE SAVING RESCUE OPERATIONS !!
Rescue organizations depend either on hard fought government funding, or on the generosity of the public at large to maintain these vital life saving services. As international search and rescue is not a competitive business, IMRF can greatly increase cost efficiency and overall effectiveness of operations for its members by encouraging cooperation and exchange. The International Lifeboat Federation can also focus the collective expertise of its members and channel any available support or equipment to assist many rescue organisations which are struggling to save thousands of lives in dire economic circumstances - BUT WE NEED FUNDING TO ACHIEVE THIS.
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A Registered Charity
In order to help it to raise the necessary funding to fulfill its declared purpose, the International Lifeboat Federation was incorporated, in August 2003, as a "company limited by guarantee". and registered as a charity. Although it is incorporated and registered within the the United Kingdom,is fully free to operate internationally. The Charitable Company is governed by a Board Of Trustees
In 2006, the name of the Organization was changed from "International Lifeboat Federation" to "International Maritime Rescue Federation"
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International Credentials
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IMRF is the accepted global representative body for all operational maritime rescue services.
In 1985, the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the United Nations' specialized inter-governmental agency for maritime affairs, granted the Federation "non-governmental consultative" status. This allows it to interact with the governments of the world's maritime nations in the regulation of maritime safety. In 1999, the ILF became the first organization to receive the IMO "International Maritime Prize", in recognition of the essential life saving service provided by its member organizations. Today, the ILF is a regarded as key player in the development of a consistent Global Search and Rescue system (see International Search and Rescue).
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A History of Achievement
The organisation was first established as the International Lifeboat Federation in 1924 (now IMRF) and has a distinguished record of achievement in its eighty year history -
- It has grown from an initial membership of eight members to over ninety - and is still expanding.
- It has become the hub of international co-operation and exchange of information in maritime search and rescue.
- Many of the search and rescue organisations established over the past eithty years will openly attribute much of their success to the assistance of ILF and its members
Its achievement in helping to save hundreds of thousands of lives in the last millennium has been recognised with the presentation of the IMO's International Maritime Prize in 1999
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