In an effort to provide vital assistance to a growing issue around the world, The Maritime Skills Academy is proud to be able to offer Save the Children crew free STCW Marine Training. Crew members will be passing through the Maritime Skills Academy doors throughout the next month and undertaking the STCW 5 Part Basic Safety Training week to ensure safety and efficiency during all search and rescue procedures at sea.

Save the Children’s search-and-rescue vessel saves lives at sea by rescuing and providing immediate support for refugees and migrants attempting the perilous and deadly crossing to Europe, to help stop more lives being lost in the Mediterranean.

So far they have rescued over 2700 people including over 400 children. They plan to reach up to 20,000 people at sea over the next 8 months, providing medical assistance, meeting basic needs such as food and water, protecting vulnerable children, and supporting refugees and migrants to reach safety. The vessel operated in the central Mediterranean between September to November 2016 and will relaunch in April this year. It is able to rescue and accommodate around 300 people at a time.

The Save the Children team, made up of 30 - 40 individuals (12 individuals on the vessel at a time), includes medical staff, child protection managers, logistics, cultural mediators, media and communications, and a team leader, work in close coordination with the Italian Coastguard to rescue and bring children and adults to a safe port in Italy.

The vessel is leased together with a professional ship’s crew. It is also equipped with two smaller inflatable boats operated by specialist rescue crews. They carry out the rescue operations, saving people either from flimsy and often inflatable boats, or from drowning in the water itself. They then transfer people to the large vessel.

Once people are onboard the larger vessel, their child protection experts on board provide every rescued children with information and advice on services available on the vessel and on-shore. They also provide a child friendly spaceon the vessel which will often be the first time children and their families felt safe in months. Their child protection work is a service that is unique to search and rescue operations, and in addition, the child protection team onboard works in close cooperation with the child protection team on the shores of Italy and other service providers to ensure they are prepared to receive and follow up on the vulnerable cases.

Rescued persons are also offered lifesaving medical support by their medical experts, so far providing over 600 consultations. In addition, in life-threatening situations, they partner with emergency medivacs, provided through their vessel. Furthermore they also ensure every rescued person is provided with the necessary basic care and support including food and dry clothes when they are brought onto the vessel.

To read more about the amazing work Save the Children do please visit their website.