Are we using the right equipment in a sea search?
We have seen two search and rescue operation within the last week here on the South Coast of NSW. Significant assets have been deployed to search for a missing snorkeler and now a missing yacht abandoned by Marine Rescue to the mercy of the sea. It has caused a serious hazard to navigation as it drifts along the coast – either to sink, come ashore or to join the lonely mariner in the Southern Ocean.
The local Batemans Bay Boating Safety Officer mounted a search operation after the vessel was abandoned and did a search in difficult sea conditions but found nothing in the limited area covered.
Marine Rescue, Police Operations Centre, AMSA and Maritime were contacted by the Association to determine if any of these organisation knew the whereabouts of the abandoned vessel. Not one did and as of Monday had no intention of taking any action to find it.
Is Marine Rescue and Maritime currently using outdated technology and methods to look for vessels and people lost at sea along our coast?
Surf Life Saving NSW use drones to assist their operations patrol beaches, to spot sharks and on occasions drop aid to a swimmer in distress. They have a specialised aviation unit, the Australian UAV Service (AUAVS), for the state of the art Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) program they currently operate. Funds have come from the State Government to support this initiative.
These drones are small with limited endurance and facilities but the concept is not new. - See the Associations Facebook post of January 2018
The question is: has the technology advanced over the last three or four years? The answer is very defiantly yes. The use of long range spy and attack drones has been perfected by the American military for use to monitor the movement of questionable people and in some cases to “take them out”.
What about over water monitoring? The Royal Navy has recently launched their Puma monitoring drone from a small patrol navy vessel in the English channel to give them long range endurance “eyes in the sky” capabilities. It has been used for search and monitoring capabilities in a range of weather conditions. It is to be rolled out to other vessel in the near future.
So how about a Drone station at Nowra to assist with search operations along our NSW coast line? It would be much more effective than a pair of eyes on a vessel at sea level. It would be less expensive than a fixed wing or helicopter searching the coast line and could be used for other “strategic compliance operations as well as to assist combat agencies”.
We know the cops in Melbourne used drones to check that the citizens did not break lockdown laws. Drones are used for mapping in the outback. The Australian Army regularly use their Black Hornet, Wasp and Shadow drones in surveillance and reconnaissance operations. So why not have Marine Rescue and Maritime use drones to locate an abandoned yacht drifting in the Tasman Sea?
Can you suggest any reason why this is not a good idea which should be pursued?
No comments:
Post a Comment