ENGAGEMENT
ACHIEVING TOGETHER Marine Rescue NSW engages with a range of operational, community and commercial partners who share our mission to save lives on the water.
Support from our Patron
PATRON His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales is the Patron-in-Chief of Marine Rescue NSW, continuing his long association with the volunteer marine rescue sector in NSW as the Patron of the Royal Volunteer Coastal Patrol. The Prince extended his warmest congratulations and gratitude to the members for a decade of service to the NSW community on the occasion of the organisation’s tenth anniversary on July 1, 2019. In April, he again wrote to express his support as MRNSW and other charities and bodies of which he is Patron faced the challenges of COVID-19 (right).
REPRESENTATION Commissioner Stacey Tannos continues his tenure as Chair of the State Rescue Board, which oversees rescue service policy development and delivery on both land and water in NSW. The Commissioner also is a member of the State Emergency Management Committee. Units contribute to the safety of their communities through their representation on Local Emergency Management and Rescue Committees and many personnel were based at Emergency Operations Centres during the summer bushfire crisis. At a national level, MRNSW is a member of the Australian Emergency Management Volunteer Forum, National Volunteer Marine Search and Rescue Committee and Enterprise Registered Training Organisation Association. We also are a member of the International Maritime Rescue Federation, which represents marine search and rescue agencies, both professional and volunteer, military and civilian, around the world.
OPERATIONAL & COMMUNITY PARTNERS MRNSW works closely with the State’s network of emergency service, rescue, marine and medical organisations to protect and assist our boating community. Cooperation and collaboration are the basis of the NSW emergency management arrangements, ensuring a seamless response to emergencies, whether on land or water. The NSW Police Force Marine Area Command (MAC) is responsible for the coordination of rescue delivery on the water in this State. The MAC and MRNSW work cohesively in emergency operations, coordination and training. MRNSW Regional Operations Managers and senior volunteers again were posted to the MAC at East Balmain as liaison officers over the peak summer boating season to enhance tasking efficiency and operational awareness. We also work with agencies including the Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter service and Toll Ambulance Rescue, both on emergency response and to support air crew winch training, and Surf Life Saving NSW at organisational and local levels. Marine Rescue Bermagui and the Bermagui Surf Life Saving Club were this year recognised with a national innovation award at the Surf Life Saving Australia Awards of Excellence for a joint project to strengthen search and rescue coordination and deployment on remote
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stretches of the NSW Far South Coast. MRNSW units also support bodies such as Transport for NSW, NSW Maritime, sailing clubs and sporting and community groups by providing a communications safety net and on-water logistical and personnel support for numerous boating and community events. This year, these included events staged before the onset of the pandemic: the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race and other sailing events, New Year’s Eve and Australia Day festivities in Sydney and regional areas and the second F50 catamaran SailGP on Sydney Harbour. Numerous other events were cancelled, including the Rose Hill Trailer Boat Show and Sydney International Boat Show, and others moved online.
WILDLIFE As well as saving human lives on the water, MRNSW also works with agencies whose charter is to protect wildlife. Crews regularly join personnel from the National Parks and Wildlife Service, Department of Primary Industries and ORCCA (the Organisation for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia) for training and operations to free whales entangled in marine
