LEONARD NEILL
NAMIBIA HAS signed a groundbreaking
agreement in maritime search and rescue
services with four other SADC countries –
South Africa, Madagascar, Mozambique and
the Comores. It caters for both national and
international needs in the coordination of
distress messages at sea as well as between
sea and shore.
Namibia’s Works, Transport and
Communications Minister, Joel Kaapanda,
signed the agreement on behalf of his
government in Walvis Bay in the last week
of March. Namport’s two harbours of Walvis
Bay and Lüderitz will provide the home
base and launching pads for sea rescue
operations from the country.
The signing of the agreement coincided
with the inauguration of the first Namibia
Maritime Rescue and Search Coordination
Centre (NMRCC) at Telecom Namibia’s
technical headquarters in its building in the
seaport.
The centre is equipped with a state-ofthe-
art maritime global distress and safety
system (MGDSS). It is part of the five
regional NMRCCs designed to assist African
countries to put in place an adequate
search and rescue infrastructure and, by
doing so, boost the International Maritime
Organisation’s efforts to implement the
Global Search and Rescue Plan, agreed by
the IMO conference in Australia in 1998.
Until the Walvis Bay gathering, Telecom
Namibia has been responsible for the
provision of distress communication via
its limited maritime radio station in the
port, said Frans Ndoroma, managing director
Telecom Namibia. The facility is now one of
26 situated in all parts of the continent.
Namibia teams up with neighbours in search and rescue project.
10 Apr 2007 - by Staff reporter
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