The Swedish Maritime Administration is the governing body responsible for SAR (Search and Rescue) at sea within the Swedish SRR (SAR Region), according to the Swedish Civil Protection Act, chapter 4, § 3.

Swedish SAR is organised to meet the requirements set in the international SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea) and SAR conventions, both adopted by the Swedish Government.

The Swedish SAR organization and methods are planned and implemented in accordance with the IAMSAR (International Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue manual).

The IAMSAR manual has in all essentials been translated and incorporated in a national Swedish SAR manual.

The Swedish SAR organization is therefore, as in most other countries, built up within the legal framework stipulated in the SOLAS and SAR conventions.

The Swedish Civil Protection Act and Ordinance regulate SAR nationally in Sweden. Merchant vessels are obliged to participate in SAR operations according to the Maritime Law, chapter 6, §6.

The objective of the Swedish Maritime Administration, according to their three year plan, is to ensure search and rescue of people in distress at sea and emergency transportation of patients from ships at sea, which must be organized an carried out:

• Maritime Search and Rescue including medical evacuation from ships shall be performed on 24-hour basis, within areas specified in the legislation on protection against accidents (Rescue Services Act). The Search and Rescue service shall with a surface or airborne search and rescue unit (SRU) in 90 percent of all SAR operations be able to rescue a person in distress within 90 minutes after an alert has been received at the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre (JRCC). The objective applies to the Swedish territorial waters and the Swedish economical zone and also the inland lakes Vänern, Vättern and Mälaren.

SAR operations can commonly be divided into three functions, SAR-Management, Mission Co-Ordination and Mobile Facilities.

SAR-Management

SAR Management has overall responsibility for the Swedish SAR-organization. It deals with policy-related issues, organizes co-operation with other Swedish organizations involved with Rescue Service, participates in international activities such as exercises, organizes international co-operation and is responsible for drawing up agreements, both national and international, involving SAR organization. SAR Management also supervises the JRCC (Joint Rescue Co-Ordination Centre) and evaluates SAR-missions of interest, in accordance with the quality assurance plan of the Swedish Maritime Administration.

The Search and Rescue and Emergency Planning unit of the Swedish Maritime Administration is mainly responsible for SAR Management. The Maritime Traffic Department handles certain operative issues of SAR Management.

Mission Co-Ordination

A Joint Rescue Co-Ordination Centre, JRCC, is responsible for Mission Co-Ordination. The Swedish JRCC, Sweden Rescue, is located in Gothenburg the Swedish Coastguard and the Defence Forces Navy Control.

JRCC Gothenburg is staffed around the clock and various distress channels are monitored continuously. When a distress call is received by JRCC, the SMC (SAR Mission Co-Ordinator) assesses the extent of the accident, classifies the phase of the mission (uncertainty, alert or distress) and draws up a so-called General Decision, which is intended as a guideline for the implementation and accomplishment of the entire mission. Appropriate SRU (Search and Rescue Units) are then alerted, instructed and conducted throughout the mission by the SMC and his staff at JRCC Gothenburg.

In case of major or extraordinary SAR missions, experts such as fire-engineers, maritime inspectors, police and medical experts, can be called in to assist the SMC at the JRCC.

JRCC has sophisticated technical equipment and computer programmes for handling telephone and radio communication, electronic chart systems, calculating search areas, registers etc.

JRCC also has access to a coastal radio network system to ensure reliable means of communication with seafarers, merchant vessels as well as fishing vessels and pleasure boats, and to keep in contact with SRUs on the maritime VHF and MF distress channel and certain traffic channels.

Most distress calls reach JRCC via the telephone network through the national emergency number (112) or via the maritime VHF distress channel 16, which is continuously monitored at JRCC. The radio signal call sign of JRCC Gothenburg is "Sweden Rescue" on maritime radio frequencies.

In the event of a search mission at sea, a search-area is calculated at JRCC and passed on to the vessles, aircraft and helicopters participating in the search. The size and position of the search area are mainly determined by the type of object to be searched for, winds and currents in the area and also on the time-lapse since the accident is estimated to have occurred, These factors are calculated by a computer programme which, in addition to giving an actual search area, also presents other important information such as POD (Probability of Detection) and time required for searching the area, depending on the availability and speed of SRUs and the search techniques used in the search.

In SAR missions involving a large number of vessels, boats and helicopters, some form of on-scene co-ordination is required. Under these circumstances the SMC may choose to appoint someone to assist as OSC to co-ordinate the units on the scene of the accident.

The OSCs primary task is to co-ordinate the mission on location according to the SMCs directives, to organize the participating SRUs and keep JRCC informed on the progress of the mission and request reinforcement if required.

The SMC can appoint any person he sees fit to act as OSC. The OSC should be familiar with the SRUs and their equipment and crews and also have sufficient knowledge of the geographical area. Captains onboard SRUs and merchant vessels may be used as OSC.

Mobile Facilities

Mobile Facilities includes the operational tasks performed by the units within the SAR mission as a whole.

The Swedish Maritime Administration has divided the Swedish coast into seven separate Traffic Areas, each with a Traffic Area Director. The coastline has, furthermore, been divided into fifteen SAR Areas. It is the duty of each Traffic Area Director to ensure that there are adequate SRUs within their area to fulfil the above-mentioned SAR objective in Sweden. The SRUs must also be manned with crews which have an adequate level of competence and training.

To accomplish this objective, a high degree of co-operation between various organizations involved in rescue services must be achieved in order to make best use of all available rescue units, even those primarily designated for other tasks. The Swedish Civil Protection Act supports and ensures this co-operation between organizations.