In one of his last official functions as secretary-general of the International Maritime Organization, Efthimios E Mitropoulos, together with Madagascar’s Minister for Transports, Benjamina Ramarcel Ramantsoa and Mr Jérôme Sambalis Director General of the Agence Portuaire, Maritime et Fluviale (APMF) commissioned a new search and rescue sub-centre at Antananarivo in Madagascar, which will operate in conjunction with the regional Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) in Cape Town, South Africa.
In one of his last official functions as secretary-general of the International Maritime Organization, Efthimios E Mitropoulos, together with Madagascar’s Minister for Transports, Benjamina Ramarcel Ramantsoa and Mr Jérôme Sambalis Director General of the Agence Portuaire, Maritime et Fluviale (APMF) commissioned a new search and rescue sub-centre at Antananarivo in Madagascar, which will operate in conjunction with the regional Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) in Cape Town, South Africa.
The commissioning took place on 11 December last year. The facility, which will operate as a joint maritime and aeronautical centre, marks an important step in a process that began at a conference on Search and Rescue and the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System, convened by IMO in Florence, Italy, in October 2000. African Governments represented at the Conference agreed on a regional approach to the provision of SAR services in western, southern and eastern parts of the continent as well as in island states around Africa.
The conference adopted a resolution inviting the African countries bordering the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, as well as the nearby Atlantic and Indian Ocean Island States, to establish five regional centres and 25 sub-centres to cover their entire coastline for search and rescue coordination purposes. The establishment of appropriate facilities off the coast of Africa was seen as a key component in the implementation of the Global Search and Rescue (SAR) Plan, the final part of which had been agreed thirteen years ago in 1998 at an IMO Conference in Fremantle, Australia.
The commissioning of the Antananarivo facility brings the number of sub-centres now in operation to 15. In March 2011, the fifth and final African MRCC was established in Rabat, Morocco, joining those previously commissioned in Mombasa, Kenya (2006); Cape Town, South Africa (2007); Lagos, Nigeria (2008); and Monrovia, Liberia (2009).
Speaking at the inauguration of the Madagascar MRSC, Secretary-General Mitropoulos stressed the importance of having a working and cohesive system for rescuing mariners in peril.“Manning the Antananarivo Centre on a 24‑hour basis, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, will require vigilance, professionalism and a sharp reaction to events, it will not be an easy task!” he said. “May those who serve in it live up to our expectations, in thus discharging their responsibilities, they will have the blessings of all those who will owe their lives to the prompt and effective execution of their duties. They and their families will be in their debt forever.”
Source: Handy Shipping Guide
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