Rescue on the High Seas
23 April 2013
47 Squadron Long -Range Search and Rescue Call-Out in the South Atlantic
In the evening of Monday the 11th of February 2013 a
Spanish registered fishing vessel, the Pesca Vaquiero, operating in
international waters outside of the 200 nautical mile limit of the
Falklands Outer Conservation Zone (FOCZ) passed a request for assistance
to British authorities in the Falkland Islands (FI). A member of the
vessel’s crew – an Indonesian sailor – had been taken ill with severe
abdominal pains and was diagnosed with suspected appendicitis. Due to
the gravity of the situation and, faced with the prospect of a
critically ill casualty on board, the captain of the ship elected to
sail direct to the Falklands in the hope of facilitating some form of
rescue operation by UK Search and Rescue (SAR) assets based at Mount
Pleasant Airfield (MPA). 
The SAR assets based at MPA consist of 2 RAF elements; a Hercules C130J of 1312 Flight manned by crews from 47 Squadron, and a Sea King helicopter of 1546 Flight manned by crews from across the RAF’s SAR force. These were alerted to the situation at approx 10.00 pm on the 11th and an emergency meeting was immediately convened between the crews to come up with a rescue plan. The Sea King, with an operational range of approximately 230 nautical miles radius, was the only asset with the capability to extract the casualty at sea so the first challenge for the crews was to work out roughly when the vessel would be within reach. This entailed waiting until the target vessel had entered the FOCZ and resulted in an initial launch time of approximately 8.00 am the following day. With a cruise speed of more than double that of the helicopter, the Hercules was planned to launch 30 minutes behind the Sea King in order to overtake en-route and reach the location of the vessel 30 minutes before the arrival of the helicopter on scene. The Hercules was also scheduled to carry a RAF Spanish translator to assist with on scene communications with the fishing vessel.
The following morning, however, it became clear that the fishing boat’s progress was slower than forecast, causing the rescue attempt to be delayed by 3 hrs, with the Sea King eventually launching at 11.00 am, followed 30 mins later by the Hercules. After an uneventful departure, and having overtaken the Sea king en-route as planned, the Hercules arrived in the area at approximately midday and assumed the role of initial on-scene-commander (OSC), establishing communications with the vessel and preparing to choreograph the Sea king’s arrival to ensure a swift transfer of the casualty from ship to helicopter. As the Sea King approached the area, the Hercules provided updated target weather and pinpointed the ship’s location, as well as establishing the exact medical condition of the casualty with the aid of the translator. This was particularly welcome to the Sea King crew as the weather was poor with a sea state of 5/6 and a cloud base of only 800 ft, but with areas down to approximately 100-200 ft in banks of thick fog. As the SAR helicopter arrived, the Spanish translator onboard the Hercules relayed the casualty information from the Pesca Vaquiero and passed instructions for helicopter winching to the vessel. At this stage Hercules positioned in a 5 mile ‘wagon wheel’ orbit around the target and was able to use its radar to maintain constant contact with both the Sea King and the target vessel. The winching of the casualty was highly eventful and potentially hazardous, with the Sea King crew struggling with rough seas and a difficult winching platform. In the end it took just under 55 minutes to recover the casualty onto the Sea King. To put this into perspective, a normal winch pick up takes around 15 minutes with SAR crews allowing a maximum of 30 minutes for their fuel planning. This prolonged time on target meant that the Sea King was already on minimum fuel by the time the casualty was safely on board. This fuel issue had been predicted at the planning stage, and an emergency plan was already in place to have the Sea King recover to a Royal Navy vessel, HMS CLYDE, for an on-board refuel before continuing en-route back to the Islands.
Throughout the rescue operation, HMS CLYDE had been steaming at maximum speed to the SAR Ops area, every mile increasing the on-scene time of the Sea King. However, the poor weather made this rendezvous problematic and once again the Hercules proved its worth by liaising directly with HMS CLYDE, passing locations, weather reports and fuel requirements. This assistance allowed for the most efficient possible rendezvous between HMS CLYDE and the Sea King, minimising the time spent on deck and expediting the onward transit to Port Stanley Hospital with the casualty. The Hercules maintained ‘top cover’, or ‘overwatch’, throughout the rendezvous with HMS CLYDE and until the Sea King was safely ‘feet dry’ and flying over dry land.
Throughout the operation the Hercules and the 47 Squadron crew provided a communications relay between a number of various agencies, including the FI air defence controllers, the MPA Joint Operations Centre, the SAR Operations Room, the Met Office, HMS CLYDE, the Pesca Vaquiero and, of course, the SAR Sea King. In addition, it provided a language translation service and actual weather reports, whilst offering the comfort blanket of an Air Sea Rescue Apparatus drop capability in the event anything went awry. However, fortunately this was not the case and the casualty was successfully conveyed to hospital in Port Stanley without further event.
Despite being relatively inexperienced in the SAR role, with only some basic on-scene-commander simulator training to prepare them for a mission of this complexity, the entire crew performed admirably. The Air Loadmaster, Flight Sergeant Steve Moore, operated the onboard equipment in a variety of modes, all essential to locate and identify the Pesca Vaquiero in the shortest possible time and allow the co-pilot to ‘talk’ the helicopter onto its target. The co-pilot, Flight Lieutenant George Blundell-Pound, took responsibility for all of the on-scene communications. He provided a faultless communications relay using beyond line of sight communications, VHF, UHF and HF radios to ensure that all agencies were kept up to date with progress and – crucially – to ensure that the search time for the Sea King for both target vessel and HMS CLYDE was minimised. Finally, the captain, Flight Lieutenant Dan Jeffrey, digested the information from the crew, confirmed they had indeed identified the correct vessel, set up his aircraft in the most efficient on-scene holding pattern, managed the aircraft operating procedures, and generally maintained situational awareness as initial OSC until the Sea King arrived. Of the Hercules crew, only the Air Loadmaster was not a first tourist in his crew position.
Although the post-mission assessment was that the rescue would still have been successful had the Hercules not been available, their presence helped ease the workload and provide peace of mind for the Sea King crew on what was already a stressful and potentially hazardous SAR callout. Their expert assistance in this unfamiliar role was especially comforting in light of the extended winching time and the resultant low fuel situation. It is clear that the success of this mission owed a lot to the professionalism of the Hercules crew who were operating in a challenging environment at a very high level of intensity for over 4 hours.
Of course, the real heroes of the rescue were the SAR crew and such missions are their regular fare; they are experts at operating under such conditions. However, the Hercules crew’s performance in an unfamiliar environment and under such intense pressure was a textbook example of crew co-operation and the utility of the C130J in the long-range SAR role. The level of airmanship, Crew Resource Management, and calm expertise they exuded over the period of the rescue belied their relative inexperience and are a fine example of the flexibility and professionalism of the Tac Air Transport force and, in particular, 47 Squadron.
Editor: Flt Lt Pool
Photograph: Flt Herc Crew
RAF/MOD Crown Copyright 2013
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