Remote Sensing Application in the Maritime Search and Rescue

Maritime search and rescue (MSRIn the maritime publications, the abbreviation for search and rescue is also SAR. Here we use MSR to distinguish it from the abbreviation for Synthetic Aperture Radar.) became an enormous task with the vast growth of marine transportation and other marine activities. In the year of 2006, the MSR centers and maritime authorities in China organized and coordinated 1620 MSR operations, which involved 5322 vessels and 17498 human lives. The past few years have witnessed tremendous changes in the organizations of maritime rescue. A large part of this evolution stems from the involvement on an international scope and the contribution of the advanced technology. However, current maritime search operation, especially searching people over board, depends mostly on human eyes.