About RMRCC Monrovia
About RMRCC-Monrovia
Background
The Government of Liberia, in compliance with the global SAR plan, created the national legal basis for hosting one of five regional MRCCs when it enacted 'the National Maritime Search and Rescue Center' in 2008. On 23 April 2009, the Regional Maritime Rescue Coordination Center-Monrovia (RMRCC-Monrovia) became the fourth regional Center in Africa to be inaugurated by Honorable Efthimios E. Mitropoulos, IMO Secretary General emeritus, following RMRCC-Mombasa (in 2006), RMRCC-Cape Town (2007) and RMRCC-Lagos (2008).
The Liberia Maritime Authority, through its Department of Monitoring, Surveillance & Rescue (DMSR), is the national responsible authority for maritime SAR and surveillance activities.
RMRCC-Monrovia, the heart of DMSR's operations, covers the whole region encompassing the territorial waters of Liberia and her four neighboring countries as of the signing of the November 2007 Multilateral Agreement between the respective governments of Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.
This fills a sizable coverage gap in the middle Atlantic Ocean, an area in which many ships of all nations regularly transit, thereby giving the center a vital part to play in the larger scheme of providing effective Search and Rescue coverage on the West Coast of Africa.
The key statutory roles of RMRCC-Monrovia, which is jointly operated by the Liberia Maritime Authority and the Liberia Coast Guard, as outlined in the "Act creating the National Maritime Search and Rescue Center of Liberia" are to:
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Enter into agreements and coordinate its activities with any local, regional or international entity in the development of and implementation of search and rescue policies, procedures, and search and rescue activities. |
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Utilise its resources, including communications equipment, any personnel, watercraft, aircraft with respect to maritime search and rescue operations outside the territorial waters and exclusive economic zone of Liberia if invited by a neighboring state or other state party or competent authority. |
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Grant immediate entry upon request into the territorial waters and exclusive economic zone of Liberia solely for the purpose of conducting maritime search and rescue operations.
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RMRCC-Monrovia has the primary responsibility for the expeditious coordination and oversight of all regional maritime search and rescue activities within the region's delineated maritime SAR area.
It also serves as a national communication hub for maritime surveillance and the similar coordination of marine oil spill response.
