NMSAR board meeting discusses inter-agency coordination; 'ICG rescued 108 people over year'

Gandhinagar, Nov 8 (PTI) Over the past year, the Indian Coast Guard carried out 119 missions, rescued 108 people, and completed 14 medical evacuations, a senior official said at the 23rd National Maritime Search and Rescue (NMSAR) board meeting on Monday.

The meeting focused on improving coordination and collaboration among different agencies.

The Indian Coast Guard organised the meeting in Gift City, as it is the main agency responsible for coordinating maritime and aeronautical search and rescue in the Indian Search and Rescue Region (ISRR), according to a release.

Addressing the meeting, Director General of the Indian Coast Guard, S Paramesh, reaffirmed the collective resolve to safeguard lives at sea and underscored the importance of efficient search and rescue (SAR) operations as a cornerstone of India's maritime safety architecture.

The meeting focused on enhancing inter-agency coordination and collaboration among stakeholders to strengthen India's overall SAR framework, the release said, adding that discussions centred on leveraging technology and modern communication systems to improve operational efficiency and maritime safety standards.

While addressing a press conference after the meeting, Paramesh stated that nearly 16,000 merchant ships transit through India's maritime zone, and approximately 3,000 of them operate within India's Exclusive Economic Zone.

"We have installed state-of-the-art Global Maritime Distress and Safety Systems in our three maritime rescue coordination centres and 36 maritime rescue sub-centres for better response to any fishermen or mariners in distress," said the ICG DG.

He said that some of the key suggestions made by stakeholders and other agencies during the meeting were to "have a more meaningful mechanism in place which can further increase the effectiveness of the search and rescue operations." "Some of the key takeaways include enhancing synergy and dialogue between all the stakeholders to ensure that we can effectively respond to any maritime incident and ensure that there is no loss of lives," he added.

Since its inception, the ICG has conducted 4,203 SAR missions, saved 11,805 lives, and carried out 495 medical evacuations, equating to one life saved every alternate day, said the release.

The meeting brought together representatives from key maritime and aviation stakeholders including the Indian Navy, Air Force, ISRO, INCOIS, Airports Authority of India, and Directorate General of Shipping, among others.

Interactive sessions and presentations facilitated the exchange of ideas and best practices, reaffirming the shared commitment to ensuring safer and more secure maritime operations, said the release. PTI PJT PD NSK