New algorithm may increase SAR recovery

Using an emergency beacon, like a PLB, helps improve the chances of success during search and rescue operations

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) says it will be looking at a new study which could improve search and rescue techniques.

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a new algorithm which analyses ocean conditions such as the strength and direction of currents, surface winds, and waves, and identifies in real-time the areas where floating objects are likely to converge. The method has also been tested in the ocean using mannequins.

‘This method uses data in a way that it hasn’t been used before, so it provides first responders with a new perspective,’ explained MIT’S Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Thomas Peacock.

He said the research was ‘freely available to search and rescue organisatons’ and is ‘out there for anyone to use.’

Like other coastguard agencies, the MCA uses data in the International Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue (IAMSAR) Manual for search planning calculations. It is published by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

HM Coastguard Operations Team Leader, Dave Morris said the data in the IAMSAR Manual was ‘constantly validated’ by coastguards around the world, and earlier this year, HM Coastguard ran its own exercise, involving drifting targets, to ‘make sure the values and data’ used in search planning were correct.

He stressed that an accurate start location for a search greatly improved the chances of recovery, and urged sailors to use PLBS, EPIRBS and DSC.