3.2. Securing of a Search and Rescue System (SAR)
A central element in the law of the sea system with respect to increased safety at sea is the regulation of an effective Search and Rescue System (SAR). UNCLOS only regulates the SAR system to a limited degree, among other things by imposing a duty to render assistance to ships in distress.(1) See UNCLOS art. 98. See also Douglas Guilfoyle, Article 98, in Alexander Proeless (ed.), United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea; A Commentary, 2017, p. 725 ff. Similar regulations of the duty to render assistance are also found in other international regulations, for example in SOLAS V, rule 33.(2) See Birgit Feldtmann & Kristina Siig, Bådflygtninge i Middelhavet – gamle problemer uden nye løsninger?, in: Hans Viggo Godsk Pedersen (ed.), Juridiske emner ved Syddansk Universitet 2015, 2016, p. 261 ff. The specific regulation of the SAR-system as such is found in the International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue (SAR Convention). The SAR Convention also emphasises the general duty to render assistance. In addition, the SAR Convention imposes an obligation on coastal states to establish an effective SAR system. The central element of the SAR Convention is the coastal states’ obligation to establish SAR zones and rescue co-ordination centres and subcentres (SAR Centres). The coastal states are also subject to a number of obligations in relation to emergency services and the handling of emergency situations.
In 2011, the Arctic states under the Arctic council – USA, Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia (also known as “the Arctic 8”) – signed the “Arctic Search and Rescue Agreement (Agreement on Cooperation on Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue in the Arctic)”, which established SAR zones for each of the eight Arctic states:(3) Agreement on Cooperation on Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue in the Arctic, 2011: https://oaarchive.arctic-council.org/handle/11374/531. On the agreement see also Shih-Ming Kao, Nathaniel S. Pearre & Jeremy Firestone, Adoption of the arctic search and rescue agreement: A shift of the arctic regime toward a hard law basis?, Marine Policy Vol 36, Issue 3, p. 832 ff.
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As the above illustration shows, the Greenlandic SAR zone, like the other Arctic SAR zones, covers a large geographical area. It is controlled by the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC), a unit under the auspices of the Arctic Command in Nuuk.