IMO Documents

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IMO Resolutions

MSC.167(78) - Guidelines on the Treatment of Persons Rescued at Sea
MSC.346(91): Application of SOLAS Regulation III/17-1 to Ships to Which SOLAS Chapter III Does not Apply
See Circular MSC.1/Circ.1447
A.919(22) - Acceptance and Implementation of the International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue, 1979, as Amended 
A.920(22) - Review of Safety Measures and Procedures for the Treatment of Persons Rescued at Sea
A.949(23) - Guidelines on Places of Refuge for Ships in Need of Assistance
A.1093(29) - Special recognition for merchant vessels involved in the rescue of mixed migrants at sea

IMO Circulars

COMSAR/Circ.22 - Guidance on Data Fields for SAR Databases
COMSAR/Circ.23 - Guidance for Central Alerting Posts (CAPs)
COMSAR/Circ.31 - Guidance for Mass Rescue Operations
MSC/Circ.1073 - Directives for Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centres (MRCCs) on Acts of Violence Against Ships
MSC/Circ.1079 - Guidelines for Preparing Plans for Co-operation Between SAR Services and Passenger Ships - Revision 1
MSC.1/Circ.1182 - Guide to Recovery Techniques - Revision 1
See also Resolution MSC.346(91)Circular MSC.1/Circ.1447, and the Pocket Guide of Recovery Techniques
MSC.1/Circ.1183 - Guidelines on the Provision of External Support as an Aid to Incident Containment for SAR Authorities and Others Concerned
MSC.1/Circ.1186 - Guidelines on the Training of SAR Service Personnel Working in Major Incidents 
MSC.1/Circ.1338 - Guidance to SAR Services in Relation to Requesting and Receiving Long-Range Identification and Tracking (LRIT) Information - Revision 1
MSC.1/Circ.1447 - Guidelines for the Development of Plans and Procedures for Recovery of Persons from the Water
MSC.5-Circ.13-Rev.3 - Information on Maritime Assistance Services (MAS) (Secretariat)
Note that this Circular is updated fairly frequently. It is to be replaced by a new ‘Maritime Assistance Services’ module to be added to GISIS.