On Wednesday and Thursday, November 27 – 28, 2024, Two members of the Hellenic Rescue Team Branch Lesvos attended the annual meeting of the International Maritime Rescue Federation – IMRF at the Grand Hotel Palace – Thessaloniki, the meeting was hosted by the HELLENIC RESCUE TEAM in Thessaloniki.
It was two days full of interesting presentations and impressive demonstrations. More than 150 delegates from all over the world attended with the aim of starting a constructive dialogue for the future of Maritime Rescue, to discuss the challenges and the integration of new technologies. An opportunity for rescuers from the organizations – members of IMRF to communicate and exchange views on Maritime Rescue issues with their colleagues from all over the world.
Day 1 was dedicated to 100 years of global cooperation between IMRF members in maritime search and rescue – SAR, with a look back at the history of IMRF and updates on the organization’s current programs and future initiatives, including the FutureSAR project and its sustainability in SAR member organizations.
The first day was opened with a speech by Fotis Sarigiannis, President of the Hellenic Rescue Team (thes/ki). In the context of the thematic section “The Future of Sea Rescue”, George Koutitas, member of the Water Element Department of the Hellenic Rescue Team (thes/ki), presented an interesting case study on the challenges and rescue practices in flood cases, with reference to the catastrophic floods in Thessaly last year.
Day 2 was started by Maria Zachariadou, Vice President of the HRT (thes/ki), where she presented the Team and coordinated the remaining speeches. The speakers were Evangelia Temeridou (HRT Thessaloniki) on the topic of Women in Rescue, Miltos Meliadis (HRT Thessaloniki) on the topic of New Technologies in Sea Rescue and Vasilis Asmanis (HRT Lesvos) on the topic of Sea Rescue Operations in Greece.
The day ended with a live demonstration on the Thessaloniki Beach, where participants had the opportunity to observe sea rescue in real conditions.
Thank you very much for the opportunity we were given to participate effectively and practically!!!
EN 
EL