About Advocacy

As the international voice of maritime SAR, the IMRF plays a significant role in the development of international maritime SAR regulation and policy.

Recently the IMRF has:

	contributed to the work of the IMO Sub-Committee on Safety of Navigation, Communications and Search and Rescue, particularly the SAR Working Group.
	provided SAR recommendations on work undertaken by the International Committee of the Red Cross on the Commentaries on the Second Geneva Convention.
	addressed members of the European Parliament regarding the migrant crisis in the Mediterranean.
	provided SAR recommendations on work undertaken by the International Committee of the Red Cross on the Second Geneva Convention, supporting the work of the ICAO/IMO Joint Working Group.

For the latest IMO and NCSR reports, please go to "IMO Meeting Reports & Various" (new window) page under IMO Documents.

IMRF at the IMO

The International Maritime Organization (IMO)’s Sub-Committee on Safety of Navigation, Communications and Search and Rescue (NCSR) is the lead technical SAR forum at the international level. Read more

ICAO / IMO Joint Working Group on SAR

Each year the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the ... Read more

IMRF to Update the IMO

The IMRF attends meetings of the International Maritime Organization’s ... Read more

Latest

#SARyouOK? - David Jardine Smith, former IMRF MRO Project Manager

David Jardine-Smith talks from personal experience to the IMRF about the importance of mental health and safety awareness in SAR organisations, regardless of your role in the SAR ecosystem.
Blog: How the NSRI's Survival Swimming Centres are saving lives in South Africa

We speak to Andrew Ingram, the NSRI’s Drowning Prevention Manager, about how the organisation’s innovative swimming centres provides complimentary swimming lessons in remote settings.
New study looks at SAR sensemaking during mass rescue exercises

A recent study undertaken by Germany’s DGzRS and Jönköping University studies the positioning of decision makers and their teams during mass-rescue exercises.
Cospas-Sarsat looking to boost SAR responsiveness and system knowledge

The international satellite distress programme is hoping to improve the response rate to distress alert communications of maritime SAR organisations around the world.

SAR Matters: Defining Distress Continued ...

People known to be in distress need to be rescued, of course – and the SAR community knows that this concept must also be extended to those believed to be in distress, and to those who, while not yet in distress, will become so if help is not provided to them in the meantime.
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The IMRF brings together and represents the world’s maritime search and rescue organisations, including voluntary and governmental organisations, as well as suppliers to the sector, to improve maritime SAR capabilities worldwide.
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WMRC - 2023 - Registration Open and Abstract Submission

The fifth World Maritime Rescue Congress will be held from 18–20 June 2023 in Rotterdam in the Netherlands. The Congress theme is: "Towards Sustainable Maritime SAR – Building on our History to Secure our Future."
Staff
Dean Storey, Assistant Commissioner NSW State Emergency Service tells us a bit about his background and his career up to this point

The NSW State Emergency Service (SES) is an emergency and rescue service dedicated to assisting the community. It is a volunteer-based organisation providing emergency assistance to the people of NSW 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.
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#WomenInSAR Report

As part of our #WomenInSAR Initiative, in October 2020 we launched our #WomenInSAR survey. We had over 1600 responses from across the globe.