Purpose

The purpose of the International Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue for Mobile Facilities, which is intended for carriage aboard search and rescue units, and aboard civil aircraft and vessels, is to provide guidance to those who:

• operate aircraft, vessels or other craft, and who may be called upon to use the facility to support SAR operations
• may need to perform on-scene co-ordinator functions for multiple facilities in the vicinity of a distress situation
• experience actual or potential emergencies, and may require search and rescue (SAR) assistance.

Responsibility and Obligation to Assist

Under long-standing traditions of the sea and various provisions of international law, ship ,masters are obligated to assist others in distress at sea whenever they can safely do so.

The responsibilities to render assistance to a distressed vessel or aircraft are based on humanitarian considerations and established international practice. Specific obligations can be found in several conventions, including the following:

• Annex 12 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation
• International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue
• Regulation V/33 of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974 (SOLAS 1974)