MIN 70/97 Tuesday, 6 May, 1997
SOUTHERN OCEAN LESSONS NOT FORGOTTEN
Australia's maritime rescue services have learnt valuable lessons from reviewing all aspects of the Southern Ocean yacht rescues earlier this year. These would be conveyed to yachting federations and race organisers to ensure all would benefit from Australia's experience in these rescues.
In a joint announcement today, the Minister for Defence, Mr Ian McLachlan, and the Minister for Transport and Regional Development, Mr John Sharp, said future rescues would benefit both from the reviews and the on-going improvements to Australia's search and rescue capability.
The Ministers said although it was not Australia's job to issue instructions
to international race organisers, the Southern Ocean rescues demonstrated
several deficiencies in precautionary and safety measures which should be
addressed for future races. These included:
· Ensuring the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre had access to
all race information prior to yachts arriving in the Australian Search and
Rescue Region;
· Emphasising Search and Rescue (SAR) arrangements for different
regions at pre-race briefings;
· Improving survival training for yacht crews with emphasis on a
better understanding of the COSPAS-SARSAT satellite system;
· Instituting more northerly waypoints for yacht routes and ensuring
the course was within the operational radius of long range maritime patrol
aircraft;
· Ensuring all competitors were equipped with suitable radios;
· Making it mandatory for yacht hulls to be marked with high visibility
dayglo orange.
The Ministers said Australia's maritime rescue services would also review
their procedures, including:
· Examining the design, contents and identification of Air Sea Rescue
Kits;
· Reviewing methods of accurately delivering survival equipment in
the worst conditions;
· Marking survival equipment with pictograms and multilingual directions;
· Improving the briefing arrangements between both the Transport
and Defence Departments, and
· Better coordination of Search and Rescue assets during rescues.
Quoting examples, Mr McLachlan said the 10-man life raft dropped during the Southern Ocean rescues was too large for one person to manage in extreme seas and tended to roll in high wind conditions. "As a result, the Royal Australian Air Force will investigate an alternative smaller air dropped raft more suited to rough conditions," he said.
"The RAAF will also review the design of its Survival Stores Containers after noting survivors had difficulty opening the containers in cold and windy conditions."
"The new search and rescue amalgamation which comes into force on 1 July 1997 will further enhance Australia's rescue activities," Mr Sharp said.
The Ministers said Defence personnel and members of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) and its Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) played an invaluable role in ocean rescues.
Debriefing sessions after the January rescues involved all key players, including Defence, AMSA, Airservices Australia, and competitors and organisers from the Vendee Globe Yacht Race. The Ministers said the debriefs had identified problems and possible solutions from both the sailors and agencies involved in their rescue.
"AMSA is now involved in more direct liaison with race directors of all round-the-world yacht races and has developed a closer working relationship with the Australian Defence Force," the Ministers said.
"Obviously some issues can be implemented immediately whereas others have to be investigated and perfected with the combined input of the AMSA, Navy and Air Force.
"It was expected that once the final evaluation was completed, the Minister for Sport, Territories and Local Government, Mr Warwick Smith, would write to appropriate yachting federations and race organisers recommending a number of measures which could be made mandatory to improve race safety."
Meanwhile, two Australian Defence Force officers who were heavily involved in the Southern Ocean rescues have discussed race safety recommendations with race organisers. The officers, Captain Rowan Moffitt (Navy) and Wing Commander Ian Pearson (RAAF) attended post-race activities in France last weekend.