The event on 4-7 February was held in Miami mainly for UK Overseas Territories – from the Falklands to the British Virgin Islands – to benefit from HM Coastguard expertise and share their own knowhow.
Alison Leighton, Overseas Strategic Policy Manager, was one of the team from the UK facilitating the activities, as part of the Overseas Territories SAR Capability (OTSAR) Project.
She said: “One of the aims of the workshop is to share experience, recognise common challenges and learn from each other.
“HM Coastguard is dedicated to saving lives on the coast and at sea. By spreading our knowledge – while also learning from others – as a search and rescue community, we can keep even more people safe around the world.”
Collaboration for mass rescue operations was the focus of the workshop, where a tabletop exercise was run involving a cruise ship on fire.
We can keep even more people safe around the world
Presentations were also given by the RNLI, Lost & Missing Persons International, and the Global SAR Hub.
Updates on SAR matters were provided by the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) Regional Office, and the Joint SAR Working Group of ICAO and the International Maritime Organization.
Attendees included SAR specialists, airport and aviation authorities and disaster managers from Anguilla, Ascension Island, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Montserrat, St Helena, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, and Turks and Caicos Islands.
Others were from the Dutch Caribbean, French and US Coast Guard covering the regional response mechanisms and a number of Caribbean neighbouring states: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago.
The OTSAR Project has been running since 2016 and began with reviews of SAR capabilities within the UK Overseas Territories. Since then, the project has provided equipment and training for SAR operations, operators and frontline responders.
