Coast Guard conducts Maritime Search and Rescue Workshop
Mangaluru, Sept 23, 2021: Indian Coast Guard DHQ 3- Karnataka conducted Maritime Search and Rescue Workshop today.
The workshop involved active participation from all stakeholders like the Coastal Security Police (CSP), Customs, Immigration, Fisheries dept, Fisheries Association, Red Cross Society in the state.
Resource persons from central agencies like INCOIS, INMCC, and other organizations conducted guest lectures for upgradation in SAR technology.
Conducting the M-SAR workshop despite the challenges of the ongoing pandemic further signifies its importance. The Search and Rescue mission undertaken and the lives saved during an emergency at sea stand testimony to the concerted efforts of the Indian Coast Guard (ICG).
This workshop also assumes significance in the wake of operations carried out due to cyclones on the Western Seaboard as well as numerous SAR cases undertaken by the Coast Guard in the recent past.
The proactive approach adopted on search and rescue operations particularly for ensuring the safety of fishermen at sea has yielded positive results and concentrated towards building confidence among the fishermen community and the mariners.
Indian Coast Guard Headquarters- Karnataka and other resource agencies conducted this event in reflection of their growing congruence of interests in the strategically key region.
“Literary and archaeological evidence indicates that the State’s sea trade extended up to Malaysia, Sumatra, Java, and Cambodia in the South-East and the Arab countries, Persia and Egypt in the west. The entire search and rescue set-up in the Indian search and rescue region is controlled and coordinated by the Indian Coast Guard through maritime rescue coordinating centers in Mumbai, Chennai, and Port Blair,” Coast Guard DIG S B Venkatesh stated in the opening address.
“Though 100 % response to search and rescue incidents has been achieved, there is a lot to be done to ensure saving all lives in each maritime distress incident. Indian Coast Guard conducts maritime exercises to find synergy amongst all participants in the field of life-saving. The exercise assumes significance in the wake of recent operations like MT New Diamond, MV Express Pearl,” he added.
