Remote-controlled aircraft and speed boat take part in sea rescue project

An unmanned aircraft and speed boat were deployed in a dramatic rescue of a sinking yacht at the mouth of Cork Harbour yesterday.

The remote-controlled vehicles, which were controlled by operators from consoles in a room at the National Maritime College of Ireland (NMCI) in Ringaskiddy, Co Cork, were part of a computer simulation for a EU-wide search and rescue research project.

The DARIUS project is working to provide unmanned platforms such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) like drones or helicopters, and unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) which operate on the surface of water, for search and rescue operations.

The NMCI, which involves CIT, the Irish Naval Service, and the Halpin Research Centre, provided its world-class simulation facilities — including a 360 degree full-mission bridge sim-ulator — to the research team to allow it test several maritime scenarios in virtual reality.

The outcome of the simulations will feed in to the first real-life test of the unmanned craft in France in December.

Tom Touhy, a retired naval service commander, who is part of the Halpin Research Centre based at the NMCI, said the technology will help the decision-making process of people leading rescue missions — not replace the people involved in the missions.

“UAVs have been used by the military in theatres such as Afghanistan for several years but search and rescue organisations are seeing the potential of this technology now,” he said.

“The purpose of DARIUS is to demonstrate how these unmanned vehicles can be an aid to the decision-making process, and how first responders can be saved.”

During the first simulation, a UAV flew from Haulbowline to the scene of a simulated sinking yacht near Ringabella in just over four minutes.

The aircraft can stream live video of an accident scene back to a rescue coordination centre, or the captain of a rescue vessel.

Mr Tuohy said this can help search and rescue co-ordinators prepare their responses to an incident before the first rescuers even arrive at the scene.

The USV, which can carry up to 40 people, was deployed from Cobh.

These high-speed craft, although still in the prototype phase of development, can be equipped with life-saving equipment for survivors, and sensors to detect chemical pollution in the water.

Other exercises will include an incident involving two merchant ships in the English Channel to show how the generic ground station can be seamlessly transferred between search and rescue regions. In this case, control of the channel mission will be transferred from French to UK co-ordination centres.