Search and rescue communication exercise with Alameda Rescue Coordination Center of the USCG

In the morning of February 29^th, 2024 in Hanoi, Vietnam Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Centre (Vietnam MRCC) organized Search and rescue communication exercise with Alameda Rescue Coordination Center (Alameda RCC) of the United States Coast Guard.

The two parties exercised to exchange and process SAR information in English via phone, fax, and e-mail with 02 hypothetical situations. In the first scenario, a Vietnamese-flagged vessel sailing in US waters had a fire in the engine room causing the main engine broke down, the vessel drifted and was in danger of running aground, 02 crew members were seriously burned, the captain requested Alameda RCC for emergency assistance. In the second scenario, Alameda RCC received an unidentified distress signal in Vietnamese waters from an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB), and required Vietnam MRCC to verify the nature of the distress from this EPIRB as well as carry out search and rescue operations according to the responsibilities of parties to such international conventions as International Convention on Maritime SAR 1979 - SAR 79, International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea 1974 - SOLAS 74, and United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 - UNLOS 82.

After the drill, Mr. Nguyen Quoc Thuy, Head of Rescue Coordination Department, affirmed: "The drill took place as scheduled with good results and high appreciation by Alameda RCC. Through SAR information processing drills with foreign SAR organizations, Vietnam MRCC continues to maintain cooperative relationship with international organizations and agencies in maritime SAR, especially the United States, Japan and relevant international organizations to strengthen cooperation in the field of maritime search and rescue".

Photos of the SAR information processing drill with Alameda RCC (part of United States Coast Guard)