The duties and responsibilities of a search and rescue mission coordinator (SMC) in the event of a search and rescue incident are the focus of a 10-day regional training course being held in Constanta, Romania (26 June-7 July).
The main objective of the course is to help improve the SMC function within national search and rescue (SAR) services by providing technical advice on resolving problems associated with SAR Mission Coordination. The training is designed to enhance regional cooperation in line with the International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue (SAR Convention).
An SMC is the official temporarily assigned to coordinate the response to an actual or apparent distress situation from a maritime rescue coordination centre (MRCC) or a joint rescue coordination centre (JRCC).
The course, being delivered in the train-the-trainer format, following IMO model course 3.14 for SAR mission coordinators, is targeted at those who may be required to train national SAR service personnel.
The course was organized following a request from several Black Sea littoral States and as a follow-up to a similar activity delivered in 2012.
The training course is being hosted in the Constanta Headquarters of the Romanian Naval Authority, on the east coast of the Black Sea. The event was opened by Mr Cosmin-Laurentiu Dumitrache, General Director of the Romanian Naval Authority.
