2. Searching for and rescuing lives at sea – what does it mean?

Watch the following video where a volunteer discusses what it means to them to work in search and rescue (SAR).

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NEIL GRAFFIN

Hello, and welcome to this module. The purpose of this video is to discuss what search and rescue is. And with me today is Pat Rubio Bertran from Refugee Rescue. So Pat, just to begin, how does a search and rescue start?

PAT RUBIO BERTRAN

The process of rescue usually starts with an alarm. That means that there's a confirmation that there's a distress case and the rescue is going to happen. Usually it's because someone has seen it or has spotted or also because we get a call that there's a distress case in the area.

If the distress case is quite far, then there's a briefing where we explain the situation, information we have, to the crew. Otherwise, if it's a matter of minutes, then we get geared up. We have a short briefing. And then we go on the fast assets to rescue people in distress.

NEIL GRAFFIN

So what might you encounter when you reach the persons who need to be rescued?

PAT RUBIO BERTRAN

Well, there are several scenarios. Once you arrive, you usually never have the full picture of what you're going to encounter. You usually miss a lot of data and information about the distress case. So sometimes you arrive and people are in good condition.

That means obviously there's still dehydration and other many cases, but maybe people are calm, and when they see you, the sea conditions are flat. In other cases, maybe the sea conditions are way more difficult or people are very agitated. There can be deceased persons on board or cases that need quick evacuation as well.

NEIL GRAFFIN

And what do you use as a vessel, I suppose, do you, when you attempt to rescue persons?

PAT RUBIO BERTRAN

Well the first part is what we call an initial assessment because, as I said, there's a lot of things that you're missing and you do not know. So you will approach the distress case and try to tell the mother ship the situation, so how many people are on board, the situation of the people, if there's any cases that need quick evacuation. And then you proceed to the rescue.

So you explain who you are. You explain what you're going to do. And you introduce yourself. And then you start bringing people from the distress case to the RHIBs, the fast assets, and then to the mother ship.

NEIL GRAFFIN

Thank you for that. And at what point would you say the search and rescue would be finished then? At what point do you say your job is done?

PAT RUBIO BERTRAN

Search and rescue is not completed until people have been disembarked in a port of safety. That means in a place where they're not going to face any persecution or any harm. However, right now when we disembark in Europe, that's a bit tricky as well because they face most of the time detention and other circumstances that are quite harmful and violent.

NEIL GRAFFIN

Well, thank you for introducing this module. And thank you for your time today, Pat.

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A SAR operation may start from a distress call at sea, or an observation of a vessel in distress, and ends when those rescued are disembarked to a safe place. The legal obligation for all vessels to conduct SAR operations is enshrined in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and further detailed in the International Conventions on Maritime Search and Rescue (SAR Convention) and Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS Convention). You will learn more about these in this section and Section 4.

But what does a legal obligation mean?

Figure 1 Clothes on a migrant boat

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Various pieces of clothing on a boat

Figure 1 Clothes on a migrant boat

A legal obligation to respond to a boat in distress means that the captain of a boat receiving a distress call, or seeing a distressed boat and its passengers, must help the people affected as quickly and safely as possible (without seriously endangering their own lives).

SAR activities can involve a number of different parties from the moment someone receives a distress call or notices a vessel in danger on the water. These include regional or national government authorities, such as border enforcement agencies and the military, private vessels, and/or civil society/non-governmental organisations (NGOs). However, certain governments as the coordinators of designated SAR regions in the world are responsible and accountable for SAR operations.

Although governments are responsible for SAR regions, the coordination and cooperation of SAR operations can depend on political agendas and motives, in particular concerning immigration and the movement of people across borders. Assisting people from drowning, attending to their basic medical needs, and bringing them to a safe place is meant to happen regardless of who they are or where they are from. Nevertheless, the political nature of immigration can impact how SAR activities are performed and, if done so negligently, can lead (and has led) to the loss of lives.