The United States Coast Guard announced this week that they will be formally accepting a new communications system, which is hoping to improve rescue response times involved for offshore rescue operations.
The communications system, known as C4 Systems-Built Rescue 21, was designed by innovative technological company General Dynamics and is currently being used in Sector Buffalo, New York. The Rescue 21 system is expected to save countless lives by using advanced new technologies to locate and communicate with vessels that have sent out distress calls. The system allows the Coast Guard to accurately locate the source of a distress call and respond rapidly. As anyone who has been involved in an offshore accident will know, minutes mean lives when it comes to emergency situations, and therefore the new system is welcomed by the nautical community as a way to improve safety for mariners.
The Rescue 21 system is effective for vessels up to 20 nautical miles off shore. As well as being able to help rescue stranded crew members, the system can also be used to respond timeously to environmental damages being caused by vessels offshore, as well as possible security threat.
The effectiveness of the system lies in its sharing of information as part of the Department of Homeland Security’s network, OneNet. Information and communication is shared over this extensive database, as well as with local emergency crews, coast guard officials and other first responders, so finding the team that is closest to the site of the emergency and dispatching them immediately to the site of the distress call.
By working together with other federal agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security, the US Coast Guard is able to better fulfill its role as a rescue operation while also being better able to protect the US coastline from possible security threats.
The Rescue 21 system is thought to bring even more improvements in the future, as the control towers for the system have designed with space to expand with further sensors and more sophisticated communications equipment which will extend the range of the system over time.
All in all, Rescue 21 is a cost effective and life-saving new measure that is a revolution of sorts for the coastal safety and security industry. Currently, the system is monitoring over 40 000 miles of United States coastline, and is expected to be introduced into the rest of the country’s waters within the next few weeks.
