According to the Navy, in the “first four months of the year there were a total of 154 maritime search and rescue operations, resulting in 110 people being rescued”.
The Portuguese Navy announced on Wednesday that it coordinated 56 search and rescue operations in April alone. In total, 27 people were rescued.
In a statement sent to the press, the Navy specified that the area corresponding to the Lisbon Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Center (MRCC) had the most incidents: 32, from which 16 people were rescued.
This was followed by the Ponta Delgada MRCC, where 19 search and rescue actions were coordinated and seven people were rescued.
In the area of responsibility of the Funchal Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Sub-Center, five search and rescue actions were coordinated and four people were rescued.
“In the first four months of the year, there were a total of 154 maritime search and rescue operations, resulting in 110 people being rescued,” revealed the Navy.
In the note, the authority specified that “for the success of the search and rescue system” different organizations are activated and “resources from various entities are committed, namely the Navy, the National Maritime Authority, the Portuguese Air Force (FAP) and other entities belonging to the Auxiliary Structure of the National Search and Rescue System, in particular the National Institute of Medical Emergency – Urgent Patient Guidance Centre at Sea (INEM CODU-MAR), the National and Regional Civil Protection and Fire Services, the Maritime and Port Administrations, among other bodies”.
Also noteworthy is the support provided by “merchant ships and fishing vessels in search and rescue actions, which deviate from their commercial routes and interrupt their professional activity to provide the necessary assistance, always coordinated by the National Centers – MRCC Lisboa and MRCC Delgada”.