Abstract
The time required for rescue is a critical factor for surviving a marine incident. The regulatory framework, International Maritime Organization (IMO) Polar Code, utilizes a risk-based approach. It states that the vessel operators are to define the time required for rescue but never less than 5 days. Based on experience from the classification society DNV GL, utilization of the minimum requirement of five days is the current industry standard when conducting risk assessments. The dimensioning of search and rescue resources is a national issue. There are no international requirements defining the adequacy of the resources for different geographical areas. The remoteness and lack of resources present within the IMO Polar Code area imposes a significant challenge for mariners in distress. The time required for rescue is highly dependent on multiple variables. Based on this study, the number of persons to be rescued, the number and type of evacuation platforms and the distance each evacuation platform must travel significantly impacts the time required for rescue. In addition, the meteorological and oceanographical (metocean) conditions play a significant role when determining the efficiency of a search and rescue operation.
Highlights
Providing adequate SAR facilities dimensioned to handle the large passenger vessels in the Arctic is challenging from an economic, practical and logistical perspective
To capture the effects different parameters had on the time to rescue, the scenarios were chosen to differ in both distance from infrastructure and number of persons to be rescued
Model Results—Scenario 1 In Scenario 1 it is evident that PTS1, freighting the survivors by helicopter to a temporary place of safety established onshore/vessel of opportunity, is efficient, especially when the number of Figure 4 it is evident that the increase in distance will reduce the efficiency of the operation by about 20%
Summary
Providing adequate SAR facilities dimensioned to handle the large passenger vessels in the Arctic is challenging from an economic, practical and logistical perspective. Lack of infrastructure and harsh metocean conditions represent risks that must be handled. A substantial increase in the polar cruise tourism activity is expected, especially around Svalbard [1]. Several frameworks address the additional risks associated with this kind of activity [2,3]. Few quantitative studies address one of the key elements essential for survival—the time to rescue (TTR). The time to rescue is mainly determined by the availability of SAR resources, which to a great extent is determined by geographical distances, political decisions and the financial strength of the business/governmental funding
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