SMCC, CSIR-NIScPR

In case of a ship or aircraft going missing over the ocean, searching for survivors or wreckage becomes a race against time. Every hour lost can mean the difference between saving lives and recovering bodies. In the Indian Ocean, where the weather is unpredictable and distances are huge, finding objects adrift has always been one of the hardest challenges for Search and Rescue (SAR) teams.

To address this issue, the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) developed the Search and Rescue Aid Tool (SARAT) in 2016. Based on the “leeway” model, SARAT predicts how missing persons, life rafts, or debris move due to winds, currents, and waves. For the Indian Coast Guard, the main SAR agency of the country, this tool became a vital resource for planning operations throughout the northern Indian Ocean…read more on NOPR