The five employees in a souvenir photograph with Ms Samson and other guests after the certificate presentation (Photo: Joena Meme)

From now on it will take only a few minutes to locate the position and plan the rescue of people and vessels lost at sea now that a new computerised and modern search and rescue planning system has been installed at the Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority Search and Rescue Unit at the Seychelles International Airport.

On Friday, a group of five employees involved in search and rescue from the air navigation services of the Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA) and the Seychelles Coast Guard who have just followed a week-long training to operate the system received their certificates. They are namely Dominic Savy, search and rescue manager; Roddy Furneau, search and rescue administrator; Mari-Ella De Sylva, air traffic controller; Marvin Servina, air traffic controller; and Willette Faure, a watch stander from the Seychelles Coast Guard.

Esmée Samson, general manager of air navigation services at the SCAA, presented the group with their certificate in a short ceremony at the SCCA head office.

Providing more details on the new software system ? the search and rescue information system (Saris) Dominic Savy said it is the latest developed by the British Maritime Technology (BMT) and is the world’s most advanced PC based search and rescue (SAR) planning system which focuses on the complex task required in search and rescue determination and coverage.

Mr Savy noted that the initiation of the Saris project in 2019 and its implementation today is proof that the SCAA is fully engaged in the provision of modern maritime and aviation search and rescue system.

He went on to point out that the search and rescue section of the SCAA is very grateful to the management and chief executive of the SCAA for the provision of the modern SAR system and the training from March 7-11.

Mr Savy explained that until now calculations of search area plans for SAR missions were conducted manually and could take over an hour but with the new system all these could be done in a few minutes and the probability to find the subject-boat, people of the search is higher.

Ian Smith, Saris instructor from BMT who conducted the training noted that to have such a system installed shows that Seychelles is keeping in line with international standards and best practices in search and rescue thus boosting the confidence of foreign visitors and tourists to our shores.

Source: Seychelles Nation