An Cosantóir

22 | A matter of Survival by Paul Shanahan, Maritime Training Developer Halpin Center for Research and Inovation at NMCI S MACs - SMall Craft Emergency Response and Survival Training for Arctic ConditionS - is a Northern Periphery Programme-funded, collaborative, international project. (The west coast of Ireland is designated part of the Northern Periphery region by the EU.) Its primary objective is the development of a safety and survival training programme focused on the needs of small-craft mariners on commercial, fishing and leisure vessels operating in the harsh Arctic maritime regions. Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) is the lead partner on the project through the Nimbus Centre for Embedded Technology and the Halpin Centre for Research and Innovation at the National Maritime College of Ireland (NMCI). CIT is developing a portion of the training as well as co-ordinating the efforts of the other teams in Sweden, Iceland, Greenland and Norway. The Arctic consists of the vast, ice-covered Arctic Ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost. The area can be defined as north of the Arctic Circle (66° 33'N), the approximate limit of the midnight sun and the polar night. Rapidly changing climate there brings new challenges in maritime safety for both indigenous and non-indigenous small-craft crew. Indigenous maritime safety practices built up over many generations must be quickly adapted to climate change. Large ships can now pass through previously impassable routes, with Arctic sea ice approximately 3.6 million km2 smaller than the 1980s' average for the same time of year. This difference is an area 42 times the area of Ireland! For non-indigenous mariners, the apparently more benign Arctic climate still holds many dangers of which they often have little experience. Many sailors are now drawn to explore the previously inaccessible An Cosantóir October 2013 www.dfmagazine.ie Arctic regions, but run into trouble with inadequate preparation and training for the extreme conditions that still exist. In turn, Arctic search-and-rescue (SAR) services must deal with a greater number and diversity of small-craft emergencies over a much wider geographic range. Our international team is currently making connections with anyone who travels to the Arctic region to obtain input into the planned training programme. A link to the survey is shown here (scan with your smartphone) or visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/HHBSD35 The Nimbus and Halpin centres, under the guidance of project leader Dr John Barrett, will produce a library of training modules that cover topics such as weather and meteorology, safety and survival, Arctic seamanship and communications. There will also be a module on being a good Arctic citizen, to learn about life in the Arctic and having respect for the environment. SMACs' international partners are the Maritime Safety and Survival Training Centre of Iceland (MSSTC), the Norwegian Society for Sea Rescue (NSSR), the Swedish Society for Sea Rescue (SSRS), and Chalmers University in Sweden. The sea rescue societies in Sweden and Norway are voluntary services similar to the RNLI and train their own volunteers. MSSTC provide all of the maritime safety training in Iceland. Chalmers University and CIT/NMCI are also maritime training providers. One of our new connections is the Killary Adventure Co, based in Leenane, Co Galway. A group of adven-

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