UK: BMT’s SARIS 4 Technology is World First for Jersey Coastguard

BMT ARGOSS, a subsidiary of BMT Group Ltd, the leading international maritime design, engineering and risk management consultancy, has announced that Jersey Coastguard will be the first place in the world to use version 4 of its internationally recognised Search and Rescue Information System (SARIS). This technology is designed to help pinpoint anybody or anything lost at sea.

SARIS brings together years of experience gained by the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency with BMT’s expertise in marine environmental software systems. Captain Rick Masterman, Coastguard and VTS Manager in Jersey comments: “This will be an incredible addition to the tools we use when we launch a search and rescue operation in the territorial waters of Jersey. Traditionally, we have used nautical charts and careful statistical calculations to help pinpoint the predicted movement of somebody or something lost overboard, which when coupled with the knowledge of the local tides is a very precise and skilled technique. This will now be supported by SARIS 4.”

SARIS is an integrated Search and Rescue (SAR) planning tool, incorporating both Search Area Determination (SAD) and Search Area Coverage (SAC) and is used by Coastguards, Navies and Port authorities all over the world. Ian Smith, Project Manager at BMT ARGOSS explains: “Partnering with Jersey Coastguard to develop this latest version of SARIS has been instrumental in helping us to better understand their requirements, as well as the wider Search and Rescue community. A new electronic logging system will allow the Coastguard to keep track of all incidents at sea such as body recovery, vessel breakdowns and reports of pollution or flare sightings.”

As well as a new electronic logging system, enhancements have been made to the modelling processes allowing for a much more sophisticated approach. These include the use of Monte Carlo simulation techniques, including the beaching of objects, re-deployable rescue units and simultaneous scenario assessment.

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Source: BMT, February 28, 2011;