A seminar to improve search and rescue efforts in the country was held last week in Honiara.
The consultation was held between the Solomon Island Maritime Safety Administration (SIMSA), SI Ports Authority, NGO____s, RSIPF maritime head, the Secretariate of the Pacific community and International Maritime Organisation (IMO).
The consultation was to ensure there is a national search and rescue (SAR) coordinating committee and the national search and rescue plan.
The consultation was held at the Heritage Park Hotel in Honiara Thursday last week.
It was carried out by the SPC representative, Mr Omitere Tabureka and IMO consultant Kees Koning in the effort to set a guideline and improve search and rescue plans in the country.
Speaking during the event, SPC rep, Mr Tabureka said that the key priorities is to finalise or complete and approve a national search&rescue plan in the pacific to coordinate the country____s agencies in delivering joint maritime and aeronautical rescue services.
Mr Tabureka said that it also to establish a national SAR coordinating committee to enhance the whole of government approach in the harmonisation of maritime and aeronautical SAR policy.
“The main purpose of this seminar is to provide assistance to establish two item that is been prioritise from the regional SAR work shop held in 2015.
“And some of the priorities highlighted or identified during the workshop is the establishment of national SAR committee in the needs country in the region and development of national SAR plan, from what____s been initiated from the 2013 regional work shop,________ he said.
He added that when the 2015 workshop was held they looked at the countries that they are not yet able to established those; thus SPC and IMO joint team visited Solomon Islands to provide the assistance, giving them guideline on who are the people to form up the national SAR committee.
Mr Tabureka further stressed that from that group they then(SIMSA) can drive other items of necessity that are required in the search and rescue system in the Solomon Islands.
“But we focused on whats been trimming from the regional workshop, where Solomon Islands also attended and those are the priorities from the outcome statement from that workshop and thats what we are doing, follow up on that, to provide assistance to Solomon Islands,” he said.
He said that Solomon Islands is not assisted by the SAR principles, those are very well established SAR principles like Australia, New Zealand, USA, and France provides assistance to other countries in the region.
“These countries are, Tonga, Samoa but not Solomon Islands, because Solomon Islands dose not fall under their SAR, because Solomon Islands is a stand alone MRCC, thats why they are not come under this,” he said.
Mr Tabureka then said that after all, the SIMSA then will probably call up other meeting themselves and invite those who they think will form up the national SAR committee and then they can look at the national Search and rescue plan.
BY JOHN HOUANIHAU
PAOA FM News
