General
The
Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) Halifax is responsible for the
coordination of all Search and Rescue (SAR) operations associated with
aircraft and marine emergencies in eastern Canada. The centre is located
in the Maritime Forces Atlantic Headquarters building, in the Canadian
Forces Base Halifax Dockyard.
Area
of Responsibility
The Halifax Search and Rescue Region (SRR)
is bounded on the east at 30 degrees West Longitude, on the west at 70
degrees West Longitude, to the south at approximately 42 degrees North
Latitude and to the north at 70 degrees North Latitude. This area
comprises all of the Atlantic provinces, the eastern half of the province
of Québec, the southern half of Baffin Island and an area of the western
North Atlantic extending to 30º west, an area of approximately 4.7 million
square kilometres. With over 29,000 kilometers of coastline, eighty
percent of the region is covered by water.
Click on the image for SRR boundary map.
The Search
and Rescue System in Canada
Authority for the control of Search and
Rescue (SAR) is vested in the Minister of National Defence (MND). A
Cabinet Directive assigned responsibility for Search and Rescue to the
Canadian Air Force in 1947, however, the Canadian Coast Guard is
responsible to provide personnel, equipment, and infrastructure to ensure
marine SAR services are provided.
Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC)
Halifax is the focal point of all aeronautical and maritime SAR activity
within its region. The staff collects and distributes essential
information concerning a distress situation, arranges the dispatch of
rescue assets and personnel to ships or aircraft in distress and
coordinates the efforts of all responding resources.
To achieve this, JRCC is manned 24 hours a
day, seven days a week by an Air Force Officer (SAR pilot or navigator),
two Canadian Coast Guard Deck Officers and a Canadian Coast Guard Support
Officer. A Canadian Forces Assistant Air Coordinator augments the day
shift and is available at other times when required. Extra personnel may
be called upon to support operations during periods of heavy activity.
In addition to the Joint Rescue
Coordination Centre situated in Halifax, there are two Marine Rescue Sub-centres
(MRSC) located within Halifax's area of responsibility. MRSC Laurentian
is located in Quebec City and MRSC Newfoundland is located in St. John's.
The two Marine Rescue Sub-centres (MRSC) are responsible for coordinating
marine SAR activities within their respective areas and work with the
Aeronautical Coordinator at JRCC Halifax to provide assistance to
aeronautical SAR activity within their areas.
History
The Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC) was
established in January 1947 under the auspices of the Royal Canadian Air
Force's (RCAF) Maritime Air Command, based on Canada's International Civil
Aviation Organization commitment. The program was set up for the
coordination of downed aircraft, namely military, and if need be to aid in
the Search and Rescue (SAR) of vessels at sea or person lost or in
distress.
In that same year, Canada was divided into
four areas; Atlantic, Eastern, Western and Pacific. The Atlantic SAR area
had coordination centres in Halifax, and Torbay (near St. John's,
Newfoundland). Dedicated primary resources at this time included 103
Rescue Unit in Greenwood, Nova Scotia, with a detachment in Torbay. Until
the early 1950's the RCAF also operated a rescue unit from Dartmouth Nova
Scotia. In the first operating year there were a total of 50 cases handled
by the Canadian RCCs, with 31 of those taking place in the Atlantic
Region.
In 1951 it was decided that marine SAR
would be broadened and would play a more active role, thus the scope of
the Atlantic, Eastern and Pacific RCCs was changed to reflect this
policy. This was more of a reflection of what was already taking place as
opposed to new duties for the RCC. By this time, Marine cases accounted
for more incidents than air cases, so this was a natural progression.
In 1954 it was decided that the detachment
of 103 RU located in Torbay would be separated from its parent unit in
Greenwood and be renamed 107 Rescue Unit.
To this point, RCC Halifax was being run
solely by the RCAF, however, by 1960 Marine Coordinators appointed from
the Marine Operation Branch of the Department of Transport were attached
to the RCCs. Their primary functions was to give advice on marine SAR
matters to RCAF officers responsible for SAR operations. There were only
three such marine advisors assigned; one each for the Pacific, Eastern and
Atlantic regions who would work mostly day shifts and then be on call at
other times. This was before the days of pagers and thus on many
occasions no marine advisor could be reached causing delays.
In 1960 all government vessels were
assigned SAR responsibilities. This was required as the number of marine
cases began to rise.
In the fall of 1964 a fishing vessel
became disabled off the coast of Nova Scotia. A Canadian Coast Guard
cutter was in the area, but as the policy was not to tow vessels it did
not respond. The disabled vessel was towed to port by a Russian tug.
This was viewed as a disgrace that Canada could not take care of its own
fishing fleet and thus the policy was changed. This change required that
three full-time Coast Guard Officers be assigned to RCC Halifax to ensure
better staffing coverage. Once the Coast Guard's towing policy changed,
marine rescue cases became the majority of work done by the RCC.
In 1964 RCC Halifax moved from Maritime
Air Command Headquarters on South Street, Halifax to Maritime Command
Headquarters in the dockyard.
By 1966 there were a large number of
vessels that now carried and used telex machines. Two proposals were put
forward; the first said there should be a dedicated telex machine put in
the SAR operations room, while the second was to add two additional Coast
Guard Officers (CGO) to the RCC staff allowing them to be on watch 24
hours a day. This brought the number of CGOs to five and would allow a
marine case to be handled by the Coast Guard under the direction of a CGO.
The Air Force and CGOs were now considered
to have equal status, tasking their own resources respectively. By the
end of 1966 marine cases represented more than half of all incidents in
the Atlantic Search and Rescue Region (SRR).
The 1970's saw changes that provided
better support for people in distress. Air resources were now located in
Gander Newfoundland, and Summerside Prince Edward Island. Halifax became
the sole RCC with the closing of Torbay, although the Coast Guard
established Marine Rescue Sub-Centres (MRSC) in St. John's and Québec
City, Québec. Aircraft began dropping pumps in aid of vessels taking on
water in 1970; in January of that year, the Motor Vessel USEN #1 was the
first successful recipient of a pump. The year 1970 saw the number of
cases rise to a total of 963.
In 1973 the first trans-Atlantic balloon
rescue took place which led the Search Master to comment;
"Unless regulations prohibiting such
flights are brought into force, incidents such as this will be repeated.
The result will be flight safety hazards and large expenditures for SAR,
chiefly in aid of publicity for the balloonist."
In the summer of 1982 satellites were put
into orbit to monitor and relay emergency locating transmitter (ELT)
information.
RCC
Halifax moved in 1983 to its present location in the new Maritime Forces
Atlantic Headquarters Building in the dockyard. In 2001, the word "Joint"
was added to the unit name (JRCC) to signify to the international SAR
community that the centre is responsible for both aeronautical and
maritime SAR.
|