1 FLEET STANDARDISATION IN THE NSRIWWF MPA FORUM 2016 Arial 24

2 People caring about people.Sea Rescue People caring about people.

3 NSRI BACKGROUND We are a registered NPO, established in (2017 is 50th Anniversary!) We are the charity that Saves Lives on SA Waters. Entirely on Volunteerism Entirely on Public Funding & Donations (mostly individual). In 2014 / 15 - we conducted 643 Rescue Missions – saving 760 people. We educated children in Water Safety as part of our WaterWise Initiative. Saving Lives, Changing Lives, Creating Futures…

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5 Our Fleet We operate out of 31 coastal bases and on 4 inland dams.We have 95 rescue craft & 28 vehicles. A range of 7 craft types from 12m down to 4.2m inflatables, split into 4 “classes”. Class 1 – 2 makes (Lochin/ Brede & Rodman), moving to a standardised 3rd class (ORC) Class 2 – 10.6m RIB (Gemini) Class 3 – 8.5m, 7.3m, 6.5m and 5.5m RIB’s (Gemini) Class 4 – Tiller arm – 4.2m inflatable, 4.7m RIB & Rescue Runner jet ski’s (Gemini)

6 Class 1 Vessels Harbour launch stations. Housed out of water.10 – 12 m Lochin / Brede / Rodman. Ageing Fleet (most built in early 1980’s). Moving towards a standardised ORC 14m fleet over the next 15 years.

7 Class 2 Vessels 8.5m – 10.6m RIB’s RADAR Equipped

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9 Class 3 Vessels 5.5m – 7.3m RIBS. Trailable.Surf Operations / manoeuverable.

10 Medical / Crew Evacuations from small vesselsIn this category I include people who have been injured on a ski-boat, yacht or where such vessel is in damager of running aground on a dangerous shore where the best option is to extract the crew. The applicable craft for this sort of rescue will have the following features : Speed (30 knots plus) Ability to travel through open sea to the scene (this distance will of course be station operational area dependent) Sufficient space to handle at least one casualty on a trauma board on the aft deck The minimum size for such a craft would be a 6.5m (the 5.5m being too small to handle a stretcher casualty) and the maximum size an 8.5m.

11 Class 4 Vessels 4.7m RIBS, 4.2m inflatables, Rescue Runner Jet –ski’s.

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13 Vehicle Fleet

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15 Advantages of StandardisationStandard training & operating procedures – uniform SOP’s Spares, maintenance & repair procedures –easier to plan, stock and distribute Standard equipment & standard location / fastening Single manufacturer – walk as a partner on a development and design path (intellectual knowledge), trust, relationship & continual improvement Centrally controlled. All assets are vetted by single QC body for new builds & refits.

16 Drawbacks & Challenges of StandardisationSingle manufacturer – risk & lack of cost comparison, lack of competition driver. Buy-in from historical users – mind set change (human aspects) Genuine local variations in operating procedure (extreme surf / shallow reefs / difficult access sites / long distances to nearby stations). Hover craft / jet drive craft? Transport and logistics hassles and costs Replacement vessels during refits / repairs

17 A vessel and vehicle can’t be all thingsIt is impossible to design or build a vessel that caters for every situation, or environment … A vessel that is big enough and heavy enough to be able to handle a rough sea, with a long range capability, survivor space and rescue equipment, that can tow anything, manoeuvre easily and go very fast – cannot be the same vessel that is easily trailed / launched, trained for, light on fuel and low on initial purchase cost and on-going maintenance. You need 2 different vessels if that is what you want. Boats at best are always a compromise! Shallow to launch easily and get over sandbanks, get close to rocks

18 Vessel Design ManifestoWe aim to produce vessels that are safe for our crews, and capable of rescuing persons in certain operating conditions. We build vessels with the end use in mind. We build vessels to be as standardised as possible for reasons of equipping, training and SOP development. We build vessels to cater for local conditions and operating requirements.

19 Speed: Higher speed = equals more strain on the hull, superstructure, equipment and crews. With increase in horsepower over the years – there has been an increase in vessel damage and crew injury (not to mention long term evolving crew injury to backs and knees, etc. of retired crews). We aim to build vessels that can get to a casualty fast, and be safe to operate in the surf, and get out of situations safely. In this regard – engines and props are specified to have out- of- the- hole acceleration, rather than a very high top end.

20 Power: A fast vessel and a powerful vessel is not the same thing. A slow, but deep draft (displacement) vessel is usually more capable of pulling a fast (planing) vessel in a tug of war. Power is needed for towing. The vessel you get must match your purpose.

21 Sea keeping (hull draft, displacement & weight):Sea Rescue RIB vessel hulls are generally “egg shell” deep vee – to reduce the slamming and impact, as well as to generally “hold” the sea better. Multiple chines – help to achieve this at the various speeds our vessels travel at: response – fast searching - medium towing & manouvering– slow.

22 Transportability and on land manoeuvrability:Often it is quicker, safer and wiser to trail a vessel to an alternate launch site, than to pound the entire distance there. Similarly – the rescue crew are more ready to do the work of rescue.

23 Range & fuel cargo (weight):For a vessel to have long-range there needs to be sufficient fuel volume and efficient consumption. 4 stroke technologies have significantly improved that. Noise reduction = improved communication Also better in terms of emissions.

24 An engine is an engine – or is it?Initial Cost? Service & buy back? Resale value?

25 Cost effectiveness: BATNEEC (best available technique/technology not exceeding excessive cost)

26 New Vessels – What we look for:Proven Hull Weight control and performance Long term relationship with builder Ability to monitor build process Acceptable cabin noise levels Good ergonomics, reduced impacts, low vibration Military and rescue crew are 5x more likely to have hip, knee, back issues than other commercial small vessel users...

27 FLEET RATIONALISATIONThe correct method of approaching this is not to start from the desired solution (a pre-determined fleet size) and then make the model work. But rather to start from the determination of need and then allocate resources accordingly. It is a dangerous assumption to fall back on generalities such as a “bigger boat is always better” or that a certain class of vessel should be discontinued as it has high maintenance or high injury rates. Often the incidents of high maintenance or high injury rates are due to the fact that the craft is being operated outside of its ideal parameters.

28 Sea Rescue Work: An analysis of the rescues undertaken by NSRI in general will reveal three major types of operations undertaken, namely : Drowning’s Medical / Crew Evacuations from small vessels Towing / Searching / Interfacing with Commercial Shipping

29 “People don’t fund what you do, they fund why you do it.” Simon Sinek

30 Drowning’s Includes all close inshore drowning incidents, as well as rivers, dams, etc. where people who are swimming experience difficulty, or a flooding situation arises. The craft for this sort of rescue should have the following features : Trailer towable – quickest way to a drowning scene (unless right in front of the station) is predominantly by road as a car can travel at 3 to 4 times the speed of the boat, and as such the speed of the craft is not really a determining factor as generally the distance to be travelled by the craft is short) Easy to launch by a minimum number of crew Fault tolerant in the surf. must be able to have waves break over the boat or even roll without seriously degrading the ability of the vessel, this will allow both for training of the crew and for the crew to feel confident entering the surf in a real rescue and not fear that the vessel will experience serious damage should they make a mistake There is no need for large casualty space or for the craft to be capable of long sea voyages. The intention is to road trailer the craft to the incident and then simply launch, recover the casualty and return to the beach as soon as possible to effect first aid on the beach. This role is best suited to a Rescue Runner / Small RIB

31 Towing / Searching / Interfacing with Commercial ShippingIn this case the ideal features for this sort of craft would be: Endurance Size (displacement) Range Solid hull (particularly when dealing with commercial ships with steel hulls) These sort of operations are best carried out by Diesel powered craft of 10m and larger. In this case the adage that “bigger and heavier is better” is in fact true and whilst speed is important it is not the most important factor and 25 knots sustainable speed in a moderate sea would be more than sufficient. The recommendation would be to get the largest craft that a station can launch (harbour facilities) and afford (funding model).

32 Maintenance / Injury In order to have a safe vessel that is economical to operate, the following conditions must be met: Properly designed Operated by competent operators Operated as per design intent In exploring why we have high maintenance / injury rates on some categories of craft, it must be noted that one of the above three areas is deficient. It is a safe assumption that the vessels we operate are properly designed, and if there is sufficient crew training then the operators should be competent.