Volunteers for Safety Baltic Sea

The project increases maritime safety level in the whole Baltic Sea region. Finland’s and Estonia’s voluntary maritime rescue systematic cooperation creates prerequisites for creation of common training system in preparing voluntary rescuers and reacting operatively. Finnish Lifeboat Institution with its 113 years of experience is a very good example in setting up voluntary maritime rescue in Estonia. Voluntary maritime rescue umbrella organisations’ cooperation with national border guards and rescue services in both countries allows optimising resources at search and rescue works in the whole Baltic Sea region. This way the project supports maritime safety priority of the Baltic Sea strategy. In order to develop Estonian voluntary maritime rescue, it is necessary to cooperate with a partner whose rescue work mechanisms function at high level and training system meets international standards. For this will be created a joint sea rescue development group. The system will be created via 12 pilot and mentor organisations in coastal areas and islands in Finland and Estonia. 5 joint training courses and sea rescue trainings for voluntary rescuers’ instructors have been scheduled to create a base for certifying instructors and for working out new training models in Estonia. Study materials will be prepared jointly and joint seminars will be arranged for both countries’ voluntaries, border guard and rescue service employees. The instructors of voluntary pilot organisations will get a very good cooperation preparation in maritime rescue and first aid trainings. Via pilot organisations’ partner activities a sustainable cooperation will be created; joint trainings, sea rescue exercises and information activities will be arranged; and operative reacting will be standardised. It is planned to organise 4 broader voluntary organisations’ trainings in Estonia. New maritime rescue organisations from islands ares of Estonia will participate. New contacts and cooperation will be established with voluntary maritime rescue organizations in various Baltic Sea countries. Cooperation and reaction experiences in search and rescue operations will be shared during the joint seminars. Project activities related to project management, coordination, legislation development, creating new models and implementing systems are included in WP1. Trainings, partner cooperation, pilot organisations’ activities (local & international), and acquiring and using investments (necessary technology & equipment) are planned to WP2. Acquisitions are based on competitive bidding and arrangements of the events (process will start in 2011 but most parts are likely to happen in 2012). Investments are used in joint and local trainings based on the equipment needs.The lead partner, Finnish Lifeboat Institution has the main responsibility for WP1 and Estonian partner, Vihula Municipality together with NGO Estonian Voluntary Maritime Rescue for WP2.

In order to increase the level of maritime safety in the Baltic Sea region as a whole, the VOSABASE project offers a solution: well-trained volunteers with well-equipped rescue boats are essential to develop an effective safety system. The partners of the project have worked to standardise the rescue activities of the local voluntary organisations by developing the cooperation network of voluntary maritime rescue organisations in the Baltic Sea region. At the same time, they are raising the level of skills and readiness of local voluntary maritime rescue groups by organising training courses and rescue activities. In addition, their equipment, including the Mobile Training Platform to be used in multitask operational training, has been developed during the project.