Norwegian Sea Rescue in place in Greece by mid-July

The rescue vessel "Peter Henry Von Koss" arrives in Piraeus in mid-July and will then be assigned an operating area in the border area between Greece and Turkey.

"We have been working to make the Norwegian coast safer for 125 years, and now we are taking part in an operation outside Norway for the first time. We look forward to taking an international responsibility," says Rikke Lind, Secretary General of the Norwegian Society for Sea Rescue. 

The Norwegian Society for Sea Rescue is contributing NOK 3 million to this humanitarian operation. The remainder is being covered by the EU and Frontex. This will not affect emergency response in Norway, but the secretary general does not rule out having to ask the people of Norway for support. For the moment, she is most concerned about immediate action and it is important to focus on getting to where the tragedy is occurring.

"Our presence, under completely different working conditions to those our crews are used to, will demand a great deal from us, both as an organisation and as people. I am confident that we will manage both," says Lind.

The rescue vessel will join the EU's Operation Poseidon. This work is being led by Frontex, the EU agency responsible for monitoring borders with non-EU countries.

"The vessel is being manned by crews from the Norwegian Society for Sea Rescue, as well as Norwegian police and representatives of the Greek authorities. All will work four weeks on board, four weeks off, which is the same as their normal practice in Norway. The initial time scale of the mission is six months," says Ronny Pedersen, head of emergency response at the Norwegian Society for Sea Rescue.

As well as being part of the border control, the vessel will be specially equipped with extra rafts that can take a total of 300 persons.  They will also have dinghies and water scooters that can operate in shallow water. 

"We have here a professional and motivated crew who are looking forward to getting on with the job in the Mediterranean. The crew has a very varied background and they have been employed on the rescue vessels for many years," says Pedersen.

About the Norwegian Society for Sea Rescue

• At the end of 2014, the Norwegian Society for Sea Rescue had 50 rescue vessels and four ambulance boats.
• The society has 276 employees, 194 of whom work at sea, manning 25 of the rescue vessels round the clock, year-round. The society also has four ambulance boats, which are stationed in Nordland, Norway. The remaining 25 rescue vessels are crewed by a total of 1,200 volunteers all over the country.
• In 2014, there were a total of 7,592 operations. 17 per cent of the operations were critical, with a great risk of loss of life or other serious consequences.
• Most of the critical and serious operations are received from the Joint Rescue Coordination Centres. The rescue vessels were involved in 70 per cent (2,426) of all sea-related search and rescue incidents in the Joint Rescue Coordination Centres' statistics for 2014.
• In 2014, we saved 25 lives. That was 13 more than in 2013.

About "Petter Henry Von Koss"

The Norwegian Society for Sea Rescue has made the vessel "Peter Henry Von Koss" available. This rescue vessel has a speed of 28 knots and a range of 800 nautical miles. It is 23 metres long, with a beam of 6.5 metres and a draught of 1.4 metres. The vessel is normally stationed in Egersund.

"Peter Henry Von Koss" was built in 1996 and the Norwegian Society for Sea Rescue has a good maintenance programme for its vessels.

The rescue vessel is equipped with:

• Dacon rescue scoop
• Rescuerunner forward, in addition to existing RIB work boat aft.
• The towing winch has been temporarily taken ashore. This has been replaced by two 150-person open rescue rafts that can be launched over the stern. This gives capacity to handle rescued persons
• Air conditioning system
• The office has been converted into double cabins to give 6 back-up berths if needed (increased flexibility), but the intention is that the crew will sleep ashore.
• The deckhouse is modified with office desks and fixed chairs for 2 persons, new cabinets etc.
• Satellite communication equipment
• The vessel has a heat-seeking camera as standard equipment