TAKING THE SEARCH OUT OF SEARCH AND RESCUE
Nautilus member and master mariner COLIN WILLIAMS worked for many years on the staff
of the RNLI lifeboats. He casts his professional eye over a new app that aims to make it
easier for rescue services to locate and help leisure sailors in difficulties.
FINLANDS SJÖFART J SUOMEN MERENKULKU 63
Many professional seafarers are aware of the
network of marine safety agencies that support
search and rescue (SAR) co-ordination at sea
when venturing in their professional capacity
around the globe. Whilst many commercial vessels are
now equipped with the Global Maritime Distress and
Safety System (GMDSS) and Automatic Identifi cation
System (AIS) to support the automatic reporting of their
location, unregistered vessels used for coastal leisure or
inshore fi shing activities are mostly not fi tted with
sophisticated equipment, so the SAR agencies are not able
to easily obtain information regarding voyage history and
last known position.
For those who engage in marine leisure activities such
as coastal sailing, wind or kite surfi ng, sea kayaking, sea
angling, motor boating and even walking on coastal paths,
the SAR agencies have even more diffi culty assessing the
exact location of missing persons.
To assist in this dilemma, an Irish software company
called 8 West Consulting has developed an app for use on
mobile devices. Known as SafeTrx, the app was developed
by the fi rm’s chief executive John Murphy, following his
personal experience of getting into serious diffi culties
during a mountaineering expedition in the Alps a few
years ago. He developed the app in close consultation with
the Irish coastguard to improve the co-ordination of
rescue within the Irish SAR area; however, the app’s
availability has quickly spread around European SAR
regions, with 12 countries’ marine rescue co-ordination
centres now recognising SafeTrx.
In the UK, the SafeTrx app is available via the Royal
Yachting Association (RYA), and in Ireland it is supported
by the Irish Sailing Association. The use of the app has
been improved very recently using ESRI nautical charts in
the Netherlands SAR region, and KNRM supports the
Dutch app under the title ‘KNRM Helps’. In Denmark, the
Danish Maritime Authority has supported the use of
SafeTrx to help promote safe and responsible recreational
boating on the Danish coast.
The user can download the app to Android and Apple
devices and insert personal information securely within
the registration menu. When used in Sail Plan Mode, the
starting point is recorded, and a destination is selected
with an estimated time of arrival (ETA). If the ETA is
exceeded, text messages are sent automatically to the
user’s nominated emergency contact(s).
The user should try to ensure that on arrival they end
the trip upon the app to avoid false alerts.
Should a nominated contact alert the SAR authority
with a concern, the data from the Sail Plan can be ac-cessed
by the rescue coordination centre to ascertain last
known position and a search plan can be initiated if
appropriate by the SAR authority. •
For more information on the SafeTrx app,
see www.safetrx.rya.org.uk in the UK
and www.safetrxapp.com for all
countries where it is in use.
E SafeTrx screenshots
showing the phases of a SAR
situation initiated on the app.
IMAGES: 8 WEST CONSULTING. A
/www.safetrx.rya.org.uk
/www.safetrxapp.com
