Synergy among countries needed for mariners' safety: Coast Guard official

A senior Coast Guard official has said synergy among friendly countries is necessary for the "common and global cause" of the safety of mariners at sea.

V Anbarasan, Chief of Staff, Coast Guard Region (West), also emphasised the importance of Search and Rescue (SAR) coordination training, speaking after presiding over the valedictory ceremony of the 'MRCC OPS & SAR' course here on Saturday. MRCC stands for the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre.

"He highlighted the need for enhanced collaborative and continued synergy towards fostering the linkages amongst various friendly foreign countries and for the common and global humanitarian cause for the mariners' safety at sea," an official statement said.

The week-long international course on 'MRCC OPS & SAR' was held for a total of 22 trainees from six foreign countries -- Bangladesh, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Seychelles and Sri Lanka.

The course is conducted annually by the MRCC, Mumbai, of the Coast Guard Regional HQs (West) under the aegis of the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC), Ministry of External Affairs.

The course curriculum covered Maritime Search and Rescue (M-SAR) planning and coordination, computation of data, search plan development, satellite-aided operations and case studies.

The foreign participants were given on-site hands-on experience during visits to facilities of the MRCC at Coast Guard Regional HQs (West), Airport Authority of India (AAI) and Director General (Shipping), the statement said.

The course was introduced in 2021 when there were 15 participants from four countries. This year there were 22 participants, the highest so far.

MRCC, Mumbai, operates 24x7, all 365 days, to ensure coordination of SAR on the 'Western Search & Rescue Region'. In 2024, it received and responded to more than 2,100 alerts.

In the past few months, SAR operations were coordinated beyond the Indian Search and Rescue Region (ISRR) too.

In two such operations, a total of 21 Indian fishermen were saved when their boats sank in the Pakistan waters and subsequently Coast Guard ships were diverted for rescue operations.