The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) is implementing a Search and Rescue Capability Partnership Programme (SCPP) in partnership with the Search and Rescue (SAR) agencies of Sri Lanka.

The programme will be funded by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).

A search and rescue system was selected following an open market approach to which a strong field of companies responded. Following a comprehensive evaluation process, the PROSAR system from the company Collecte Localisation Satellites (CLS) was selected.

PROSAR calculates the surface water movement and the leeway behaviour of floating objects related to search and rescue. The model calculates all available major environmental data and it is then capable of generating and displaying a drifted search area based on this information. Different versions of the PROSAR system are used by Petrobras in Brazil, Direction des Affairs Maritimes (SAR) in France and the Romanian Naval Organization.

The system is web based and so can run on any PC or laptop with a browser and internet access. The contract with CLS includes the acquiring and supplying of environmental data, setting up of the system for each partner country, training, implementation and maintenance support for two years.

CLS together with Tess (the local agent) has supplied 50 VMS systems to Sri Lankan fishermen and is successfully tracking these vessels according to EU requirements.

TESS hosted a networking event at Colombo Swimming Club.